3 Games that ruined the Atlanta Falcons in 2022

Week Ten Carolina-25 Atlanta-15

While there were more painful losses on Atlanta's schedule this is the one that should be circled as the biggest problem and when Arthur Smith should have benched Marcus Mariota. You're playing a team that is at the bottom of the conference and starting a struggling quarterback and this game never felt very close.

This was when the tide turned on Mariota and the Atlanta season after some early magic. Mariota consistently missed throws that were there and seemed to stare the coverage to his open receiver. It was a messy game Atlanta would love to forget that should have been the end of Mariota's tenure as an Atlanta starter.

Foreman bullied the Atlanta defense with Carolina controlling the clock giving Arthur Smith a taste of his own style and the Atlanta offense looked lost. This is the type of game that the Falcons needed Desmond Ridder and Bijan Robinson in to turn around a boring offense that couldn't pass.

A week after a rough loss this is the game that seemed to signal Atlanta wasn't a wildcard contender and needed to make a change.