Arthur Smith sticking with Mariota at QB: ‘There’s no situation’

Following last week’s 25-15 loss to the Carolina Panthers, many wondered if the Atlanta Falcons would make a change at quarterback before their Week 11 matchup against the Chicago Bears.

Marcus Mariota had one of his worst games, making some questionable decisions and prompting fans to call for rookie QB Desmond Ridder to take over. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith met with the media on Monday and said he’s sticking with Mariota while the team is still in the playoff hunt.

“There’s no situation,” Smith said of the QB controversy, per team reporter Tori McElhaney.

Arthur Smith asked about the QB situation: “There’s no situation.”

Everybody wants to panic on the outside, he says, but added the Falcons are right where they want to be even after losing two games in five days.

— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) November 14, 2022

Mariota has been mostly average this season, but on Thursday, he was careless with the football. Despite finishing with two touchdowns and just one interception, he was lucky to not have two or three more turnovers.

“If we were going to make a change I’d tell you,” elaborated Smith. “You’d see it at practice.”

Fans have wanted Mariota to be more aggressive this season, but if it means more plays like the one below, they would rather take their chances with Ridder.

Marcus Mariota with a very interesting decision to throw this ball

He was ruled down before the pass pic.twitter.com/YBKu4LTJQB

— Pickswise (@Pickswise) November 11, 2022

The Falcons do have a winnable game at home against the Bears in Week 11, but the same could have been said about their Week 10 matchup against the Panthers.