Falcoholinks: All the Falcons news you need for Monday, Sept. 23

The Falcons rolled into Indianapolis and are headed back to Atlanta with their second loss of the season. The Falcoholic staff predicted a victory for the Falcons, and we were all wrong, as Jacoby Brissett carved up Atlanta’s defense in the first half — at one point completing 16 of 16 straight passes.

Prior to this matchup, the Falcons had lost 14 of the 16 all-time meetings with the Colts, and they’ve now pushed that to 15 out of 17. Atlanta was without its starting punter Matt Bosher and backup right tackle Matt Gono, but otherwise they entered this one fairly healthy.

They wouldn’t leave Indy healthy, as Keanu Neal, Ito Smith, and Jamon Brown would all go down in the first half with injuries. Defensive linemen Grady Jarrett and Takkarist McKinley would also leave the game due to injuries in the second half.

Keanu Neal carted off

If you saw Keanu’s emotional reaction after he went down late in the second quarter, you know it’s likely not good news. He would be immediately carted off, and Ian Rapoport reported after the game that it is a season-ending Achilles tear for Neal.

Keanu went down in the first game last year with a torn ACL and missed the remainder of the 2018 season.

Ito Smith & Jamon Brown injured

There was some early bad news for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon, as second-year running back Ito Smith would leave the game with a head injury during the Falcons’ first drive. Ito headed to the locker room and it was announced at halftime that he is in the concussion protocol.

The Falcons elected to leave both Qadree Ollison and Brian Hill inactive against Indianapolis, so they were somewhat shorthanded in the backfield once Ito Smith went down. Kenjon Barner assumed the role of backup running back for the remainder of the game.

We will monitor his progress throughout the week.

Right guard Jamon Brown would also leave the game for a spell, but returned on the final play of the second quarter.

(Redundancy alert): Grady Jarrett and Takk McKinley injured

It was injuries ahoy in Indianapolis, and both Grady Jarrett and Takkarist McKinley would leave the game in the second half. Jarrett would exit in the fourth quarter with a toe injury, and McKinley would also exit with a knee injury.

We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the status of both of them, as Atlanta’s defensive line will be vastly depleted if neither can go next Sunday against the Titans.