NFC Notes: Falcons, Marcus Mariota, Panthers, Saints, Jameis Winston

Falcons

Falcons QB Marcus Mariota said that he must play with better efficiency to help their offense produce more frequently. 

“I think specifically there’s a couple of plays where there was an interception in the last game on Thursday night, also a couple of third downs where I took a sack,” Mariota said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We talk about it all the time, in order for this offense to continue to hum and be in rhythm, I’ve got to be efficient.”

• Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson set the NFL record for kick returns for a touchdown with his ninth on Sunday. (Mike Rothstein)
• Jordan Schultz reports that early indications on TE Kyle Pitts are that he did not have any torn ligaments in his knee and will undergo an MRI on Monday morning.
• Falcons coach Arthur Smith had no updates on Pitts or DT Ta’Quon Graham (left knee) following the game. (D. Orlando Ledbetter)
• Smith also commented on Bears QB Justin Fields: “You run him that many times, he’s a running back when he does that. Any game you get like that, a lot of carries add up. I’m proud of the defense and the way they executed the plan.” (Josh Kendall)
• Smith gave the media an insight into what his game plan was to stop the running quarterback: “We were going to make them earn it. We thought whoever was the most physical team would win.” (Tori McElhaney)

Panthers

Panthers C Bradley Bozeman recently revealed that he turned down higher-paying offers in order to join Carolina and OL coach James Campen this-past offseason.

“As free agency approached in March, the Bozeman’s knew they weren’t likely to return to Baltimore after turning down a long-term contract extension ahead of the new league year,” per Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer. “The couple started doing research on other potential landing spots. They decided to head to Carolina for less money than they were offered elsewhere, signing a one-year, $2.8 million contract with the NFC South franchise. The decision to head to Charlotte was made largely due to the feedback Bozeman received on Panthers offensive line coach James Campen.”

• Panthers S Xavier Woods was fined $15,009 for unnecessary roughness in last Thursday night’s win against the Falcons. (Michael Rothstein)

Saints

Saints QB Jameis Winston speaks with regret when answering questions about losing his starting spot due to injury, revealing that while it has been difficult for him he has remained active in trying to be a leader from the sidelines.

“I lost my job due to injury and the policy has always been you don’t lose your job due to injury. And that’s what happened,” Winston told Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “I’m healing up. I haven’t been playing. This is the best healing I can get.”

“What’s going on right now is what I’ve got to deal with right now and focus on right now,” Winston added. “I’ll handle what’s going on right now, and when that time comes for me to eventually come back on the field, which hopefully it will, I’m going to support Andy, I’m going to support this offense, I’m going to support everyone on this offensive staff the best I possibly can, and that’s it,” Winston said. “Because, like I said, I wear that shirt that says, ‘Big team, little me,’ even though it hurts my heart. It hurts my soul the way things have turned out to be this year, but it is what it is. I owe it to this team to be in the role that I’m in right now, to this offense, to everyone. I apologize to the fans. I know some of them to want to see me out there. But I think winning makes a lot of things better, so we need to go out there and start with this week and get a win as a team. No one person makes a team win. We need to get a team win and I think we’ll all be better at the end of the day.”

• Saints HC Dennis Allen to the team following their Week 11 win: “We talked about being the most physical team. We talked about the focus and the preparation… You guys put in the work and came out here and performed.”

• Saints DE Cameron Jordan has a fractured orbital bone after being poked in the eye socket last week which caused him to miss his first game in 12 years, per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
• He’s pushing to play next week but the team will be cautious and not play him if there’s any risk of re-injury.