Despite 0-2 Start, Marcus Mariota 'Operating Pretty Well', Says Coach

The Atlanta Falcons are winless after losses to the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams. However, Arthur Smith is pleased with Marcus Mariota so far.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 19, 2022

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The Atlanta Falcons are waking up Monday morning as one of four winless teams in the NFL after falling 31-27 to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

While many teams would hit the panic button after a rough start, that doesn't appear to be the case in Atlanta. The team has lost its two games by a combined five points and could be 2-0 if a few things zigged instead of zagged.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota has led the ship so far, and he would be an easy scapegoat to blame for the team's slow start. However, head coach Arthur Smith doesn't point the finger at his signal-caller.

“Well, take it in context. I mean some of the stuff, wasn't necessarily his fault," Smith said. "He made enough plays and gave us a chance, right? He have two touchdown passes today? The one interception, I mean the way the ball bounced off CP, and then the one at the end…it's (CB) Jalen (Ramsey) over the top, you got a chance on that. There's things we'll look at and clean up, but he's operating pretty well for us right now.”

Mariota completed 17 of 26 passes for 196 yards, two touchdowns in two interceptions in yesterday's loss, but as Smith mentioned, the turnovers were part of unlucky plays. Against the New Orleans Saints in Week 1, Mariota fumbled a ball inside the red zone that could have given the Falcons the score they needed to win the game.

Regardless of how the turnovers came about, someone needs to take responsibility. And if Smith isn't pointing the finger at Mariota, it'll likely point in his direction if the losing continues on a larger, more consistent pattern.

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Published Sep 19, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.