FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons have seen their bye week come and go as Week 13's matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers arrives this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Falcons have lost their last two games. They were completely shut out of the end zone against Denver two weeks ago, and took their first NFC South loss to a New Orleans Saints team who had just fired their head coach that same week. The Falcons' bye week came at a much needed time because injuries were mounting pretty heavily, too.

Atlanta enters into this weekend at 6-5 on the year, with a 4-1 divisional record. They hold the tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the Bucs are only one game back on the Falcons at this point in the season. This thing could come down to the wire, and a win over a 7-4 Chargers team at home would be an important domino to fall the Falcons way.

Let's take a deeper look at this matchup in this weekend's Saturday Six Pack.

Injury update

The Falcons needed a big-time reset this bye week, mainly to get healthy. Their injury report in the week leading up to the Denver game was lengthy and not without serious names listed out. This week, head coach Raheem Morris said the Falcons expect to be healthier after a week off, and they are.

Despite a lot of Falcons players being listed on the injury reports this week, not very many showed up on the game report Friday.

The main news of the report was the starting cornerback Mike Hughes is still out with a neck injury. This means Clark Phillips III will continue to see starting reps opposite A.J. Terrell at cornerback. Outside of Hughes, though, the Falcons' secondary returns nearly to 100% after taking a significant injury beating prior to the bye week. Defensive backs Dee Alford (hamstring), Kevin King (concussion) and Antonio Hamilton Sr. (pectoral) were all cleared to play this Sunday. This helps with depth in the secondary as much as anything, which was something the team greatly lacked in Denver.

The other key piece of news involved kicker Younghoe Koo, who was listed as questionable for Sunday's game with a right hip injury. He was limited in practice Thursday, but was listed as a full participant Friday. His status and any additional moves the Falcons make Saturday afternoon will be something to monitor. The Falcons signed kicker Riley Patterson to the practice squad Friday, but Morris told reporters the same day that the signing was for "emergency" situations only. He added, though, that he believes Koo "will be fine" by Sunday.

The Falcons inside linebacker room, meanwhile, is returning to prime shape. Though Nate Landman (hamstring), Troy Andersen (knee) and JD Bertrand (concussion) were all listed on the injury report with varying degrees of workload this week, none of the three received a game designation Friday. Landman could continue to get the start alongside Kaden Elliss, but the Falcons could also see the return of Andersen to the starting lineup for the first time since Week 4.

Speaking of the starting lineup, Morris said early in the week that the Falcons are expecting to get center Drew Dalman back in with the first-team offensive line once again. Dalman has been working through an ankle injury since Week 3, meaning backup center Ryan Neuzil has started every game since.

"I'm excited and feeling good," Dalman said to reporters this week.

The Falcons should also see the return of tight end Charlie Woerner to the rotation. Woerner missed the Denver game with a concussion but did not receive a game designation Friday, meaning he is available to the Falcons this weekend.

No J.K. Dobbins

The big news of the week coming out of the Los Angeles camp involve starting running back J.K. Dobbins. It was reported back on Wednesday that Dobbins is expected to miss this weekend's game in Atlanta because of an MCL sprain the running back sustained in the Chargers' Monday night loss to the Ravens.

Though the Chargers' run game has not been the highlight of their offense in 2024, Raheem Morris said that doesn't mean the Falcons can sell out to stop the pass.

"They are going to run the football," Morris said. "They haven't been probably as effective as they want to be in their run game, but that's not going to persuade them or stop them from trying."

Without Dobbins, the Chargers will look to Gus Edwards and Kimani Vidal to handle the ground push. As Terrin Waack reported this week, the Chargers' offense ranks 13th overall in rushing yards, averaging just over 118 yards per game.

After a slow defensive start when attempting to stop the run early in the year, the Falcons' run defense has improved in this specific category in the last month-plus of the season. It's not perfect, but it's better than it was four games in. The Falcons have limited opponents to 114 rushing yards or fewer in all but one game since Week 5. So, that's relatively OK news. The not-so-OK news is that Justin Herbert is coming to town, and likely ready to take advantage of a significant Falcons weakness.

The Justin Herbert effect

Herbert has been clean, explosive and accurate in his decision-making in 2024. He has not been prone to many mistakes. In fact, he's only thrown one — yes, one — interception in 2024. And its not like he's taking the easy way out, either. He's in the top-3 among quarterbacks who have connected on deep targets. Through Week 13, Herbert has tossed over 500 yards on plays of 20 yards or more. Seven of his 13 total touchdowns have come on — you guessed it — those type of explosive plays.

As Will McFadden pointed out in this week's Falcons Final Whistle podcast (embedded at the top of this article), it's a little bit of a good vs. good situation. Despite the last two showings of this defense against the Saints and Broncos, the Falcons still ranked high in limiting explosive plays by opponents. They tend to keep the top on the offense. However, the trade off with that is that the Falcons rank last in the league in opposing quarterback completion percentage. When facing the Falcons, quarterbacks are completing over 70% of their passes.

With a guy like Herbert coming to town, the stats are not on the Falcons' side here, especially if Atlanta cannot generate enough of a pass rush to make a difference. If Herbert has all the time in the world to sit back in the pocket and wait for an open receiver to materialize, this game could get out of hand, especially if the Falcons' offense isn't keeping up.

I feel the need. The need for... touchdowns

It goes without saying but I am going to say it anyways: The Falcons need to score more points. There have been two instances now where the Falcons have not scored an offensive touchdown in a game. They won one, and lost the other. It's been three weeks and two games since Kirk Cousins has thrown a touchdown pass; the first time in his career he's experienced a spell like this.

Points have been at a premium of late. And when the defense isn't getting off the field and possessions are limited, if you're not putting the ball in the endzone, it's not fairing well for the Falcons. The win over the Saints in Week 4 when the Falcons didn't score an offensive touchdown and still won the game is the exception to the rule, not the rule itself. Points win games. Or as Cousins has said before: If you're scoring touchdowns, you're usually winning. If you're kicking field goals, you're not. And the Falcons need more success when looking for the endzone.

According to this week's Nerdy Birds installment, Atlanta is 6-0 when scoring at least 20 points and 0-5 when scoring fewer than 20 points. It may sound elementary, but sometimes the answer to a question does not involve a mathematically breakdown or scientific breakthrough. Sometimes it really is this simple.

Furthermore, sometimes the reason why is looking you right in the eyes, too. It's plain to see the Falcons have a red-zone penalty problem that — if fixed — could be a key difference for this team down the stretch.

Penalties, they'll get ya

Something else that Nerdy Birds expertly pointed out this week is the effect of penalties committed by this offense on this offense.

According to Tru Media, Atlanta has lost 21.4 expected points added because of offensive penalties. What's more, the Falcons have scored a touchdown on 26.6% of drives without a penalty but just 11.8% of drives when a penalty is committed. Atlanta's red zone efficiency drops significantly, too, going from 65.2% on drives without a penalty to just 22.2% on drives with a penalty.

So, the stats back it up: Penalties have been a problem for the Falcons.

Personally, I truly believe if the Falcons are not being penalized as an offense, we thinking differently about what we are seeing out of the unit. I don't think there is anything consistently wrong with play calling, scheme or even the execution within the plays themselves. It's the penalties. When you look back at the most recent losses, there is a direct correlation between penalties mounting in the red zone and a stalling offense. Those penalties have a direct impact on how we feel about this offense right now. It's up to the unit to make a change.

Player of the Game prediction: Matthew Judon

This may be my hottest take so far in 2024, but hear me out before you make any snap decisions.

In my opinion — and with offensive efficiency put aside for a moment — the only way the Falcons win this game Sunday is if they are affecting Herbert. If they don't, if he feels comfort, ease and time in the pocket, he'll tear up this defense. The Falcons are just coming off a game in which Bo Nix put up historical numbers for a rookie quarterback in Denver. I'd argue Herbert is better, which should be cause for concern considering how this defense looked last time out.

It's why I am picking Judon. I don't think Atlanta wins this game without the defense standing tall, and that includes Judon.

Judon has not been the pressure player the Falcons — or the man himself — wanted in 2024. In fact, I look at this prediction as more of a challenge than anything: Be the guy the Falcons sent a third-round pick to the Patriots in order to acquire. Be that double-digit sack machine who's red sleeves dominated up front. If the Falcons get that Judon this Sunday, I think this game will be electrifyingly interesting.

If not...

If the Falcons' pass rush remains stagnant and allows Herbert to throw the ball around the yard without qualms or quarrels...

The outcome will not be what the Falcons need it to be.