New-look Atlanta Falcons host Kansas City Chiefs before bye

And obviously this is a big matchup after a busy week of trades and roster changes. Atlanta is hosting the Kansas City Chiefs this afternoon. And our Victor Prieto is joining us live. Victor, 3-6 on the season. This is a big one because obviously the Falcons need to turn this around. But they're going to have a really tough matchup today. Yeah, Tyler, absolutely. Lost four of their last five. They're now back stateside. They have a bye week coming up next week. What better way to go into a bye week than coming out on top and ending it with a win with, like you said, a pretty new-look team. It was the trade deadline this week, and the Falcons made some moves, notably losing two of their captains, Jesse Bates III. The safety traded from the Falcons. They got some draft picks in return for him. So expect DeMarco Hellams, Xavier Watts, two younger guys – To step up in that place. And then the Falcons trade their center, Ryan Neusel, to the Ravens. They get a guy, Corey Levins, who will be making his first career start for the Falcons today at center. So, this is the center. This new look squad will have a lot on their plate today against a very good Kansas City Chiefs team. Just walking around, the cold hasn't really shaken any of the Chiefs fans from coming out and supporting their team. There will be a lot of Chiefs fans in the building today for this game. But the Falcons will have a lot on their plate to try and take down the Chiefs going into the bye week, Tyler. And so, Victor, what do these trades tell us about how the team is feeling about the rest of the season? Because if you ask some Falcons fans, it seems like they've just given up and they're trying to plan for the next couple of seasons ahead. Well, from one perspective, you can say that, but look, obviously this team is in a slump right now. Four of last five, they have an under 500 record, but the division is very much still in play. They're only a game back, and if you win the division in the NFL, you automatically get a playoff spot. So the team is very adamant. We're not giving up and punting on this season. However, the two guys they traded, Jesse Bates and Ryan Neusel, yes, they were two very good starting players. Both of them were on expiring contracts, so you only had seven games left with them. And then you had to commit a lot of money. Long term. So Ian Cunningham, first year general manager for the Falcons, felt it was in their best nature to get draft picks for the future for these two guys on expiring deals rather than play the rest of the season. So it was obviously a bit of a gamble. We'll see how it affects the play now for the rest of this season as it goes. Obviously, Jesse Bates, we all know what he did. He was a captain here for the Falcons for all the years he was here. And also they released kicker Nick Folk, who was not having a good stint here in Atlanta. So he was also a captain. So losing two of your captains this week from a trip from Madrid here to Atlanta is certainly a busy week for the Falcons. Had coach Kevin Stefanski saying this week that they'll replace the two captains this week with the next highest vote. So we'll wait to see who those guys are today. But yeah, it's a busy time and especially with a bye week coming next week. These guys for sure, I'm sure beat up, banged up, banged up, itching to get to that point where They can rest a little bit. It would be nice to walk away with a win against the Chiefs. Let's talk about today's matchup. Obviously, we're about an hour and 20 minutes away from kickoff at the Benz. The roof's going to be closed, and I think it's probably a good day to keep the roof closed with how cold it is outside. But what's going to be the big key to be able to slow down Patrick Mahomes? Because obviously, the Chiefs are a good team. I mean. Yeah, walking into the stadium, I was surprised, honestly, how many people were not wearing more jackets and beanies and coats because it's freezing. But, hey, it might be just the Miami in me. But moving forward on the game itself, the Chiefs, obviously, like I said, it's Patrick Mahomes. Everyone is aware of that. They will be without their starting running back, Kenneth Walker, though, which is a very big loss for him, or for the Chiefs. He's been having quite the season. Obviously, the Falcons' defense last week, the Bengals were able to do really... Anything they wanted in terms of offensively rushing and passing. So this will be a nice obviously alleviation to not have Kenneth Walker having to deal with that. But it's going to come down to this Falcons offense trying to score Michael Penix Jr. We know what we've seen with him getting Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London going. They almost had it in the Bengal game. We saw little spurts and stints, but ultimately they couldn't get it done and they couldn't keep up the pace of the scoring with that Bengals offense. So today They're going to try and keep up with Patrick Mahomes and his Chiefs offense. Well, Victor, you mentioned that a lot of people weren't wearing coats and jackets as they were coming in. Remember, the tailgating. Remember, alcohol keeps people warm. Thank you. Hey, that's what the weekends in NFL football is all about, right? You've got to do it. Victor, I appreciate the update as we get ready for kickoff. Again, about an hour and 15, hour and 20 minutes, and you'll keep us up to date. And you'll be joining us a little bit later on this evening during Fox 5 News at 6, 10 and 11.