That inexperience showed up all over Indy's injury report before the game even started. Tyler Warren, DJ Giddens, Charvarius Ward and Anthony Gould all carried questionable tags, and Alec Pierce was out entirely, thinning a receiving corps that was already leaning on reserves. Atlanta's own list was mostly precautionary — Jessie Bates III and Divine Deablo working back into camp shape — nothing that touched the players actually taking snaps Saturday. The board still made Indianapolis a short home favorite anyway, pricing a backup-on-backup game with the same math as a real one.
It didn't hold up. Atlanta's reserves put together a complete performance from start to finish, running out to a 34-6 final that wasn't competitive at any point once the Colts' first-half offense failed to find any rhythm behind Leonard. By the time Richardson took over for the second half, the game had already tilted hard toward the visitors, and it never tilted back.
The Falcons carried a 4-1 mark over their last 5 into this preseason slate, though the only game since was that lopsided loss to Denver, so Saturday doubled as a bit of a bounce-back spot for Atlanta's depth chart. Indianapolis is coming off a much rougher stretch — a 5-game skid to end last season, followed by a tie in the preseason opener against New England — and a blowout loss to Atlanta's second and third string doesn't do much to change the read on where this roster actually stands.
- QuestionableMichael Penix Jr. (QB) — Penix said that he's meeting with his doctor Thursday to see where his left knee stands, William McFadden of the Falcons' official site reports.08/20
- OutDeAngelo Malone (LB) — The Falcons placed Malone (undisclosed) on the reserve/PUP list Tuesday, Will McFadden of the team's official site reports.08/04
- SuspensionJames Pearce Jr. (LB) — reserve-sus08/19
- Injured ReserveTrey Sermon (RB) — The Falcons placed Sermon (undisclosed) on injured reserve Wednesday, Tori McElhaney of the team's official site reports.08/19
- Injured ReserveMalik Verdon (LB) — ir08/19
- Injured ReserveJalon Walker (LB) — ir08/19
- QuestionableTyler Warren (TE) — Warren (groin) is expected to miss about a week, but his status for Week 1 against the Ravens isn't in any danger, Ian Rapoport of ESPN and NFL Network reports.08/20
- QuestionableDJ Giddens (RB) — Giddens (hamstring) participated in Wednesday's practice, Nathan Brown of The Indianapolis Star reports.08/19
- QuestionableCharvarius Ward (CB)
- QuestionableAnthony Gould (WR)
- QuestionableSean McKeon (TE)
- OutAlec Pierce (WR) — Coach Shane Steichen told Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan Indianapolis on Wednesday that Pierce (ankle) is "in a great spot right now. ... Hopefully, we will have him back soon."08/19
- SuspensionCam Taylor-Britt (CB) — reserve-sus08/19
- Injured ReserveCarson Towt (TE) — ir08/19
- Injured ReserveCameron Mitchell (CB) — ir08/19
None of it moves the needle on paper — preseason results this lopsided rarely do — but for a Colts fanbase that just watched last season end on 5 straight losses, dropping a 28-point home game to a team playing without its starting quarterback is not the August vibe check anyone wanted.
For Atlanta, the takeaway is cleaner. Rush and the rest of the depth chart did their job, the receiving corps stayed healthy, and Penix's knee remains the only real storyline left before the games start counting.