Atlanta Falcons

• The Falcons are no strangers to monumental collapses, just ask Tom Brady and the Patriots, but Sunday’s 40-39 loss to the Cowboys on a blundered onside kick was record-setting bad.

According to ESPN, the Falcons became the first team to lose a game when scoring 39 or more points and allowing no turnovers. Before Sunday, teams with 39 or more points and no turnovers had been 440-0 dating back to 1933.

• Falcons owner Arthur Blank was a guest on Sirius XM radio on Monday and gave his thoughts on what happened on the onside kick, where it appeared the Falcons return team weren’t clear on the rule of the ball traveling 10 yards.

Arthur Blank and Thomas Dimitroff – Photo by: Getty Images

“There’s 14 more games to play in the season,” Blank said. “We have a lot of games left to play and there are certain aspects of our performance in the first two games which have been really good. Some other parts have not been good. Clearly our defense is not playing at the level we want to see it play at. And clearly on the last play of the game yesterday our players, you know, didn’t do what they, you know, either what they were instructed to do and they didn’t understand it, or, it’s clear though they didn’t, in my view, they didn’t clearly understand what the rules were and exactly what they had to do. I think that’s demonstrated when you watch the video of it.”

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said his player do in fact know the rule, but didn’t execute it.

“The front three are usually blocking as the high bouncers go to the second side, so the front line, generally on an onside kick, they’re looking to get a block first, then the high hop goes to the next player,” Quinn said. “So when that instance happens and it’s not one that’s a high hopper you transfer in and you go to your ball. . . . They definitely know the rule.”

Yikes, not good for Quinn who started the season on the hot seat.

• Besides the song of the loss on Sunday, the Falcons lost some key players to injury, but did receive some good news on that front Monday, especially on offensive lineman Caleb McGary.

Some good injury news for a change: Falcons’ RT Kaleb McGary suffered a minor sprained MCL and is expected to miss only one week, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 21, 2020

Besides McGary, Atlanta had three injuries from Sunday’s game. Defensive end Takk McKinley suffered a groin injury in the first half and didn’t return. Linebacker Foye Oluokun had to leave the game due to cramps and was eventually ruled out with a hamstring injury. And safety Ricardo Allen suffered an elbow injury that kept out of action on the afternoon.

Carolina Panthers

• The Panthers saw their best and most productive offensive weapon go down on Sunday in their loss to the Buccaneers when Christian McCaffrey was injured on a touchdown run in the second half. While the injury didn’t appear very serious at first glance, the former Stanford star has been told he could miss 4-6 weeks with an ankle sprain.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

McCaffrey said he plans to be back sooner.

“They say four to six weeks,” McCaffrey said. “That’s a challenge to me. Hopefully I can get back a lot earlier. I’m going to attack this.”

• Fans could be returning to Bank of America Stadium to see their Panthers in person soon after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday that large outdoor venues in the state could allow up to 7 percent capacity beginning in October. The Panthers will host the Cardinals on Oct. 4 and based on the governor’s order that means up to 5,000 fans could be in attendance for that game.

“We are excited to welcome some fans back to Bank of America Stadium beginning Oct. 4, and we thank the state of North Carolina, the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County for partnering with us in these efforts,” said a team spokesperson. “We have worked for months to develop and implement a responsible and comprehensive plan for the return of fans and we are confident that it will ensure that the game day experience is enjoyable and as safe as possible. We will continue to follow guidelines provided by the CDC, local and state government as well as the National Football League, and will be prepared to adjust our policies as necessary.”

Fans will be required to wear a mask to attend and other safety measures will be put in place.

New Orleans Saints

• Most people expected the Saints offense to suffer somewhat with star receiver Michael Thomas out nursing a high-ankle sprain. But the defense?

On Monday night the Saints defense got blasted by the Las Vegas Raiders who put up 34 points on New Orleans as Derek Carr threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Running back Josh Jacobs added 88 yards on the ground and tight end Darren Waller totaled 102 receiving yards on 12 catches.

Saints QB Drew Brees and HC Sean Payton – Photo by: Getty Image

Saints QB Drew Brees didn’t talk about the defense following the game, but said the offense isn’t doing what it needs to do to be successful.

“Are we totally in sync right now? No, We’re not. We’re not even close to what we are capable of. Not even close,” Brees said. “We know what wins football games and we know what makes it very, very difficult to win football games. Obviously we made way too many mistakes out there.”

Head coach Sean Payton talked about some of the team’s issues following the loss.

“We got to be precise with what we’re doing in the passing game, route wise,” Payton said. “I’m just saying the last two weeks have been average at best offensively. That starts with us, it starts with me, and we have to be better. We ran the ball a little bit better tonight. We’re still not protecting the way we’re supposed to, we’re not functioning well enough and taking advantage of the opportunities we had. We’ll look at that. Our third down numbers were better. I’m sure our red zone numbers were a little better. We had some penalties situations, and in that one drive we had three or four penalties that I lost track.”

The Saints and the Buccaneers sit atop the NFC South standings with 1-1 records while the Falcons and Panthers are 0-2.