After skating through the first six games of the season relatively healthy, the Atlanta Falcons' secondary has been decimated by injuries the past two weeks.
In the 28-14 win over San Francisco in Week 6, starting cornerbacks A.J. Terrell (thigh) and Casey Hayward (shoulder) went down. Hayward has been placed on injured reserve and is out indefinitely.
In Sunday's 35-17 loss at Cincinnati, Terrell (hamstring) left in the first quarter, which left the Falcons (3-4) scrambling for answers against a potent Bengals' passing attack. Safety Jaylinn Hawkins departed in the second half with a head injury, entered the concussion protocol and has already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers (2-5).
Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith said Monday that despite the rash of injuries, it's up to the coaching staff to come up with an answer.
"We've tried to develop guys that have been in our program and it's our job to find solutions," Smith said. "Everybody is dealing with something around the league and we got to find solutions. We got a big divisional game coming up here Sunday."
Smith said Terrell was "week-to-week" and backup cornerback Dee Alford was "day-to-day." Alford hasn't played in two weeks due to a hamstring injury. His return would be impactful.
Fourth-year pro Cornell Armstrong was elevated from the practice squad and could be a starting corner if Terrell doesn't play against the Panthers. Darren Hall and Isaiah Oliver are other options the Falcons can lean on at cornerback.
Sixth-year pro Dean Marlowe is on track to start in place of Hawkins against the Panthers. Marlowe has seven tackles this season.
The Falcons currently have 52 players on their roster, giving them room to sign a player this week.
"We just have to evaluate with the IR guys," Smith said. "I don't have an update on it right now but there's IR, there's somebody you bump up, or you never know if there's somebody out there you may claim or whatever, so we'll see how the week goes."
--Carolina enters this week's matchup with one of the worst offenses in the league. The Panthers rank last in total offense (271.9 yards per game), 28th in passing offense (169.7 yards per game), 23rd in rushing offense (102.1 yards per game) and tied for 25th in scoring (17.7 points per game).
But backup quarterback P.J. Walker passed 177 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-3 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. Look for Walker, likely the starter again in Week 8, to take aim at the Falcons' beat-up secondary in a crucial NFC South showdown.
--Atlanta quarterback Marcus Mariota had season lows in passing attempts (13) and yards (124) in the loss to Cincinnati. Take away a 75-yard scoring strike to Damiere Byrd and the Falcons' passing game was basically non-existent.
"We'll certainly look at everything," Smith said. "We gotta find ways to get guys involved earlier. ... That's the key, is making sure we continue to evolve too. And we will. That's the charge. That's what I've always believed in."
More must-reads: