Divine Deablo’s absence was keenly felt on Sunday night, as the defense struggled to stop the run and keep Christian McCaffrey under control through the air. McCaffrey’s monster game wasn’t all on JD Bertrand—not even close—but it seems fair to suggest he wouldn’t have taken over to that degree if not for Deablo exiting early on with an injury.
The Falcons are going to have to navigate life with Deablo for at least a week or two, by the sounds of it. On Monday, Raheem Morris announced that Deablo was
“week-to-week” with a forearm fracture, while Michael Penix Jr. is dealing with a bone bruise and is considered “day-to-day.”
This team’s injury estimates are notoriously useless, but A.J. Terrell missed two weeks of action with a “week-to-week” designation, and that’s probably a fair guess for Deablo as well. In his absence, the Falcons can work Jalon Walker in at inside linebacker more frequently once he’s healthy, start JD Bertrand or Josh Woods, or go shopping among the very limited options available in free agency to add somebody. Walker’s the best option by a country mile in terms of ability, but I’m not sure if he’s A) healthy and B) under consideration to play that role full-time at this point. It’ll likely be Bertrand again for right now, with the fervent hope that he has a better week with some snaps under his belt.
Penix, meanwhile, is working with some limitations but is still in play for Sunday. If he can be out there, I have no doubt that he will be, but he was beat up pretty good by the 49ers and is coming off an up-and-down game. I could see the Falcons electing to sit him this week if he’s not close to 100%, both because they badly need a win and they don’t want to exacerbate anything that could knock their young quarterback out for longer. It would be nice to get Penix back into a rhythm against the Dolphins, though, considering they just allowed a season-high 31 points to the Cleveland Browns, who had previously not scored more than 17 in a game.
The Falcons do have a better insurance policy at quarterback, at least, with Kirk Cousins available to work against Miami’s deeply suspect defense if Penix can’t go on Sunday. If he plays well, I’m sure there will be a fresh wave of quarterback controversy rumblings out there, but I’ll take that headache if it means Penix gets healthy and the Falcons get the win.
We’ll keep an eye on Penix’s status throughout the week, but I’d brace for at least one game without Deablo.
