The Atlanta Falcons' Week 10 game will have them traveling all the way out to the desert to face the Arizona Cardinals. The Falcons will be hoping to end a two-game losing skid, while the Cardinals will be trying to end one of six, only winning one game overall this season back in Week 3.
For the matchup on paper, this probably garners very little interest unless you're a fan of the respective teams. But this is actually a really intriguing middle-of-the-season game, starting with the quarterback position for both teams.
For the Falcons, it's attempting to figure out what exactly Arthur Smith wants to do with his offense and who exactly he trusts to run it. For at least another week, that looks to be Taylor Heinicke, who will have his second start of the season, playing in his third game. That means Desmond Ridder will be riding the bench once again.
For the Cardinals, it's the return of Kyler Murray coming off ACL repair surgery. Murray's return Sunday will now be the third week that the Falcons are facing a different starting quarterback for a team than the one who started for them the previous week. The Falcons are 0-2 in those games, which included rookie Will Levis' first career start for the Tennessee Titans and then Joshua Dobbs' first game less than a week after his arrival to the Minnesota Vikings.
Will Murray be the next one in line to keep the Falcons on this losing streak? Let's get into some Falcons Week 10 predictions.
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Taylor Heinicke does well enough to keep the starting job, throws for 200 yards or more and a touchdown, no interceptions
If you're a Falcons fan, who knows how you feel about the Heinicke/Ridder situation? The bigger question is how you feel about Smith.
Nevertheless, facing a 1-8 team that is more or less playing for the NFL Draft at this point with a defense that is giving up the 28th most points per game with 26.7, the Falcons should be able to score.
Look for Heinicke to be efficient enough, mainly doing the opposite of Ridder and minimizing mistakes, which should entice Smith to keep him in the starting role.
Bijan Robinson finally gets to score again
One of the more puzzling things about Falcons' head coach Arthur Smith has been his play-calling and leaving his best playmakers out of crucial situations. Last week, it was leaving Bijan Robinson out of a goal-line situation at the 1-yard line that resulted in a Falcons field goal.
Smith has given his dull excuses for this, but it hasn't sat well with Falcons fans. Hopefully, Robinson gets his opportunities this week and finds the endzone again, especially if the Falcons are deep in the redzone.
Falcons struggle with Kyler Murray, but pick him off at least once
Murray will be looking to ball out in this game, as he wants to prove to head coach Jonathan Gannon and Cardinals management that he is indeed the franchise quarterback of the Cardinals. With a loaded quarterback draft class and the Cardinals right now holding a top-two pick at this point in the season, it's essentially left to Murray to prove he is the guy in Arizona.
The Falcons' defense has taken a step back over the last couple of weeks, with some of that due to losing key pieces on that side of the ball, like Grady Jarrett for the season after tearing his ACL. Their last two losses were the first- and second-most points they've allowed all season, combining for 59 points.
Falcons pull out a close victory over the Cardinals
A lot of this Falcons team feels lost right now, like they're trying to find their identity, especially on offense. Even Cordarrelle Patterson has made it known through his X account how he's unhappy right now. Does that mean Smith is starting to lose this team? Atlanta definitely looks worse by the week now, it seems.
If the Falcons can't beat the Cardinals on Sunday and get back to .500, then the seat could be warming up for Smith. This is a must-win for Smith and the Falcons. Look for them to pull out a close one, in the typical fashion they always do, with a Younghoe Koo field goal.
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