Falcoholinks: We’re on to the Panthers after Falcons’ 35-17 loss to Bengals in Week 7

Another Sunday has come and gone, and with it, another Falcons loss.

The Falcons fell to last year’s AFC Champions, the Cincinnati Bengals, on the road with a final score of 35-17. Marcus Mariota finished the day completing eight of 13 passes for 124 yards. The touchdown and 75 of those yards came on one play, this gorgeous score by Damiere Byrd.

Mariota, Tyler Allegier, Caleb Huntley and Avery Williams combined for 107 rushing yards, with Allegier making it into the end zone for a score. Younghoe Koo, reliable as ever, nailed the field goal to bring the Falcons’ total to 17. The team did show some fight, but it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the Bengals’ attack.

Let’s get into it.

Week 7: Falcons 17, Bengals 35

The Falcons had their moments, but fell to 4-3 with Sunday’s loss to the Bengals. Dave Choate has every brutal detail in the recap.

Joe Burrow absolutely shredded the Falcons’ depleted secondary. Check out all seven of Will McFadden’s takeaways from the loss.

If you’re a glutton for punishment, feel free to check out the Twitter reactions from the Bengals’ win from Patrick Judis at Cincy Jungle.

The Birds ended this one pretty banged up. Casey Hayward was already on injured reserve. Dee Alford was inactive on Sunday due to injury. AJ Terrell went down with a hamstring injury in the first quarter against the Bengals and was unable to return. Then Mike Ford went down with a knee injury, and safety Jaylinn Hawkins went down with a head injury. We’ll monitor these injuries through the week, but the Falcons’ defensive backs depth chart is looking mighty thin right now.

SB Nation Reacts

Falcons fans were very confident coming off of last week’s win against the 49ers. Stay tuned for our survey this week — I’m guessing the results will look a little different after Sunday’s loss.

Behind Enemy Lines

We’re on to Carolina for Week 8. The Panthers just traded away the team’s best running back, Christian McCaffrey, to the 49ers, and their backs still managed to rush for 173 yards and a score against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers en route to a 21-3 victory over Tom Brady and friends. Check out the full recap from our friend Brian Beversluis at Cat Scratch Reader.

The Panthers are six-point ‘dogs on the road against the Falcons despite today’s win over the Bucs. Bradley Smith from Cat Scratch Reader has all the details here.

Around the NFL South

The Saints got embarrassed yet again, this time vs. the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. All eyes are on Dennis Allen as the Saints continue to struggle - Christopher Dunnells, Canal Street Chronicles

The Buccaneers’ loss to the Panthers raises a pretty important question: The Bucs might not be good? - Will Walsh, Bucs Nation

Yeah, the Buccaneers are just straight up not having a good time. Poor coaching is slamming the Bucs’ Super Bowl window shut - Mike Kiwak, Bucs Nation

Wildly enough, the Panthers are now just one game out of first in the division, so this week’s matchup is a pretty meaningful one for the Falcons and Carolina. Here are the current NFC South standings:

Buccaneers 3-4
Falcons 3-4
Panthers 2-5
Saints 2-5

NFL odds and ends

The last play of Packers-Commanders summed up a stinky NFL Sunday early slate - Mark Schofield, SB Nation

Why the Lions were right to not challenge the spot vs. the Cowboys - Jeremy Reisman, Pride of Detroit

Sacks are a quarterback stat - John Gilbert, Field Gulls

It’s time for Panthers GM Scott Fitterer to deliver on this rebuild - MickSmiley, Cat Scratch Reader

How NFL teams create their draft boards and misconceptions about that process - Greg Gabriel, Windy City Gridiron

NFC not looking as daunting as Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers fall under .500 - Kenny Arthur, Turf Show Times

ICYMI at The Falcoholic

Take a look at our picks for last week’s games and see how we did.

Tweet of the day

Podcast of the day

Check out The Falcoholic’s post-game show, hosted by Kevin Knight and featuring Allen Strk.