Key Falcons offensive starter to miss Saints game
By Ikaika Hall
Atlanta Falcons will face the New Orleans Saints on Thursday. This is a must win game for the Falcons. But they will have to play without a key offensive lineman.
It was reported on Monday that Atlanta Falcons starting guard Andy Levitre will not play against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night. Furthermore, it is being noted that Levitre could miss two to three weeks of play as the result of a partially torn triceps.
#Falcons guard Andy Levitre is out against the #Saints on Thursday with a partially torn triceps, source said. However, the hope is he's back after just 2 or 3 weeks. Not season-ending.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 4, 2017
This news could not come at a worse time for the Falcons, as they have four regular season games left and need all the help they can get to win out. Currently, Atlanta is out of playoff contention. If the season were to end today, the Falcons would be ranked 7th in the NFC, one spot away from the sixth and final playoff seed. Levitre missed some snaps in the Falcons loss to the Minnesota Vikings. In his place, Atlanta’s Ben Garland attempted to fulfill the role. Now, the Falcons will need to adjust to playing without Levitre for the foreseeable future. Atlanta will most likely look to Garland to assume a seamless transition of duties.
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There is a bit of good news coming out of Atlanta however. Falcons defensive back Desmond Trufant will play in Thursday night’s matchup against the Saints. Truant missed the Dirty Bird’s Week 13 game against the Vikings. Having Trufant back on the field is going to help a secondary that, at times, struggled against Minnesota. Although, in Trufant’s absence, the Falcons secondary did not perform as bad as some would have thought.
Atlanta’s secondary was also missing Brian Poole on Sunday. Information on Poole’s return is still unknown. However, the hope he can return before the end of the regular season.
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Atlanta will need each and every player to step up over the next four game stretch. Starter or not, whoever is on that field will be asked to fight to keep Atlanta’s playoff hopes alive.