The host Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals each will look to end lengthy losing streaks when they meet on Sunday.

The Falcons (5-10) have dropped four straight and six of their past seven games following a 17-9 loss to the host Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. The Cardinals (4-11) have lost five straight and seven of their past eight contests after a 19-16 overtime loss to visiting Tampa Bay on Sunday.

The Falcons and Cardinals have undergone changes at quarterback.

Falcons rookie Desmond Ridder will be making his third start after coach Arthur Smith benched Marcus Mariota during the team’s bye week due to his poor performance and a nagging knee injury. Mariota has been placed on injured reserve.

Ridder went 22-of-33 passing for 218 yards against the Ravens a week after throwing for just 97 yards in a loss to the New Orleans Saints.

The Falcons have gone 4-8 in one-score games this year after going 7-2 last season.

“You’re trying to build a culture of winning the right way,” Smith said. “We’ve come in a lot of close games with a young team, and been charging back, but we haven’t gotten over the hump in the last four games. We need to do that.

“Desmond Ridder needs to go in there (and) we need to go win a football game. Those are important, especially if he’s going to be the quarterback of the future.”

Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury said Colt McCoy will start against the Falcons after he cleared concussion protocol and practiced Wednesday.

McCoy left with a concussion during a loss to the Denver Broncos on Dec. 18 and was replaced by Trace McSorley, who made his first career start against the Buccaneers.

McCoy has completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 780 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in four games this season.

The Cardinals’ quarterback situation has been in disarray since Kyler Murray’s season-ending torn ACL in a loss to the New England Patriots on Dec. 12. Murray, who reportedly will have surgery on Jan. 3, is facing a potential nine-month recovery. His availability for the start of the 2023 regular season is uncertain.

“We had some meetings (Tuesday) and I just said, ‘Kyler can’t play and you brought me here to play. I want to finish the season strong,’ ” McCoy said. “That all hinged on getting cleared and going through the whole concussion protocol and the doctors did a fantastic job. I was fighting to play last week but they weren’t having it.

“I’m fully cleared and excited about getting another opportunity.”

The Cardinals will play their first game since defensive end J.J. Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, said earlier this week that he will retire at season’s end.

Arizona defensive lineman Zach Allen (hand), offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum (knee/ankle), cornerback Antonio Hamilton (hip), receiver A.J. Green (illness), running back James Conner (illness) and cornerback Marco Wilson (neck) didn’t practice on Wednesday.

Cardinals’ offensive linemen Billy Price (knee) and Max Garcia (shoulder) and safety Charles Washington (chest) all were limited.

Falcons guards Chuma Edoga (knee), who has missed the past three games, and Elijah Wilkinson (calf) didn’t practice Wednesday. Tight end Feleipe Franks (concussion) also was held out after entering concussion protocol on Monday.

–Field Level Media

The New York Giants can lock up their first playoff berth since 2016 when they host the rudderless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.

There are seven scenarios in which New York (8-6-1) qualifies for the NFC playoff field in Week 17, but the simplest path is to beat the Colts (4-10-1), losers of five straight.

First-year coach Brian Daboll, who has garnered Coach of the Year discussion at points this season, will do what he can to keep his team focused on what it can control.

“We’re not in it yet,” Daboll said. “I’m not going to look too far down the road, and we’re going to try to beat the Colts. And that’s where I’m at with it.”

After a hot start to the season, the Giants are just 1-4-1 in their past six games. They lost 27-24 to the Minnesota Vikings last Saturday on Greg Joseph’s game-winning 61-yard field goal.

Daniel Jones completed 30 of 42 passes for 334 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Saquon Barkley guided the rushing attack with 84 yards (6.0 per carry) and a touchdown. Barkley’s 27-yard score and a two-point conversion pass caught by Daniel Bellinger tied the game at 24-24 with 2:01 left before Minnesota’s game-winning drive.

Jones has the NFL’s lowest interception rate among qualifying passers at 1.1 percent (five picks in 448 attempts). He’s 10th in completion percentage (66.5) but 24th in yards per attempt (6.8).

Richie James has led New York’s depleted receiving corps in each of the past three games. James has tallied 19 receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown in that span.

The Colts pulled out a 25-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Jeff Saturday’s debut as interim head coach on Nov. 13, but they haven’t won since. Ever since taking a 33-0 halftime lead at Minnesota two weeks ago, the Colts have been outscored 59-6 in the next six quarters plus overtime.

Indianapolis has benched quarterback Matt Ryan for the second time this season — first in favor of Sam Ehlinger, now for journeyman and one-time Super Bowl winner Nick Foles. In Monday’s 20-3 defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers, Foles tossed three picks, was sacked seven times and gained just 143 yards, but the Colts plan to stick with him as their starter the rest of the season.

Dysfunctional as the team has appeared, the Colts are trying to hunker down and play with pride over their last two games.

“We’re in the NFL. Everyone wants to finish well and do it the right way,” Foles said. “Finish strong. Obviously, we’re not playing for the postseason right now, but everyone here, this is their career. This is something they grew up wanting to do and we have an opportunity to be in the NFL as players and as coaches.”

Colts wide receiver Ashton Dulin did not practice Wednesday after suffering a concussion on a hit to the head that got Chargers safety Derwin James ejected. Also missing practice were tight end Kylen Granson (ankle) and cornerback Kenny Moore II (ankle).

The Giants placed guard Shane Lemieux (toe) on injured reserve. Defensive lineman Leonard Williams (neck), linebacker Azeez Ojulari (ankle) and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (knee) were limited in practice Wednesday.

–Field Level Media

Not much has come easy for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.

But now with just two weeks to play in the regular season, it could become clear and convenient for quarterback Tom Brady and his teammates.

If they win against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon in Tampa, Fla., they’ll capture the NFC South title and secure a home playoff game.

“This is why I came here,” Buccaneers receiver Russell Gage Jr. said. “These are the games I want to be in. This is big for me.”

The Buccaneers (7-8) have won just two of their last five games. They’ll be trying for back-to-back victories for just the third time.

The Panthers (6-9) can claim the NFC South title by winning at Tampa Bay and following that by winning next week at New Orleans. They’re 5-5 under interim coach Steve Wilks.

“This game is important,” Wilks said. “It’s important because it’s the next one.”

Carolina emerged in playoff contention by winning three of its last four games. The most recent road outing resulted in a 30-24 victory at Seattle for the Panthers’ only road win.

“I always feel like teams that play great this time of the year are teams still emphasizing and working on fundamentals,” Wilks said.

Brady has been steady if not spectacular, throwing for 4,178 yards and 21 touchdowns.

That puts Carolina quarterback Sam Darnold well off that pace with 759 passing yards and four touchdowns. The key, though, is that Darnold hasn’t thrown an interception in his limited work, while Brady has been picked off nine times.

The Panthers have received huge boosts from their rushing attack at times. That includes running back D’Onta Foreman’s career-high 165 rushing yards last week against the Detroit Lions.

The Buccaneers struggled mightily in an Oct. 23 loss at Carolina, which won 21-3. That’s one of three games when Tampa Bay failed to reach a double-figure point total.

“We know what type of game is going to be, playing them earlier in the season how that went,” Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristian Wirfs said. “We’ve got to set the tone early.”

There could be a boost for the Buccaneers if center Ryan Jensen is on the field. On Wednesday, the team designated him to return from injured reserve.

The Panthers seem relatively healthy other than the absence of cornerback Jaycee Horn, who underwent wrist surgery this week. That resulted in the decision to sign former standout cornerback Josh Norman — who could be used as a backup at Tampa Bay — to the practice squad with the possibility of activating him for the game.

Keith Taylor and CJ Henderson will be Carolina’s starting cornerbacks.

“I’m excited about him moving forward, so we’ll see at the end of the week,” Wilks said of Norman. “He’s definitely not in game shape. But he’s definitely in shape the way he can move. … You have to put a cap on the number of plays he can possibly play.”

The Buccaneers were without cornerback Carlton Davis III (shoulder) for Wednesday’s practice.

Carolina is 12-9 all-time at Tampa Bay.

–Field Level Media

The Tennessee Titans will move toward a key game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday with running back Derrick Henry listed as doubtful with a hip injury.

The Titans are just 7-8 in the AFC South but are tied for first place with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Henry, 28, is second in the NFL with 1,429 yards rushing this season. He gained 126 yards on 23 carries in last weekend’s 19-14 loss to the lowly Houston Texans in his third consecutive game of at least 100 yards and eighth this season. He had a 48-yard touchdown run in the game.

The Titans already are without quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who is out for the season with an ankle injury. Malik Willis was 14-of-23 passing for 99 yards and two interceptions against the Texans.

Running back Hassan Haskins is listed as second on the Titans’ depth chart. The rookie out of Michigan has just 50 yards rushing this season on 11 carries. Undrafted rookie Julius Chestnut has 13 yards on five carries.

Henry, who has been named to the Pro Bowl three times and was the AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2020, has gained 8,226 yards on 1,720 carries over his seven NFL seasons out of Alabama, with 78 touchdowns. He has 126 career receptions for three more TDs.

Tennessee cornerback Kristian Fulton (groin) also was listed as doubtful for Thursday, as was linebacker Denico Autry (biceps), while safety Amani Hooker (knee) was listed as out.

–Field Level Media

A disastrous defensive outing left the Detroit Lions with no margin for error in their fight for an NFC wild-card playoff berth.

They need to defeat the Chicago Bears in their home finale on Sunday to stay in the race.

Detroit (7-8) had won six of its last seven before Carolina literally ran past the Lions on Saturday. The Panthers gashed their run defense for a franchise-record 320 yards and handed them a 37-23 road loss.

“We’re moving on,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We identified those things that happened and they’re behind us. Now it’s all about working forward for Chicago.”

Detroit remained a half-game behind Washington for the final wild-card spot, though it’s also tied with Seattle and Green Bay. The Lions will face the Packers on the road in the regular-season finale.

Patching up the holes in the defense will be paramount. Detroit also needs to reenergize its running game, which was virtually abandoned in Carolina. Quarterback Jared Goff led the Lions with 15 rushing yards.

“To me, this is our recalibrate week,” Campbell said. ” We’re going to recalibrate, man, because we were doing some good things. We found a pretty good spot in what we were doing and how we needed to do it and we got a little out of line. So, let’s do a little realignment, a little re-calibration and go back to work because we’re not far off. As bad as some of it was, honestly you’re not as bad as it appears to be.”

The first meeting with the Bears was a thriller. Detroit scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 31-30 victory.

Chicago (3-12) heads to Detroit with an eight-game losing streak, but after last week’s debacle, the Lions know better than to take any opponent lightly.

“You have to treat this no different than anybody else,” Campbell said. “This is the Buffalo Bills as far as we’re concerned, and it’s going to come down to the wire.”

Quarterback Justin Fields’ mobility tops the list of concerns for Detroit. Fields rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting. He also threw for two scores.

Fields and the entire offense struggled against the Bills in their latest defeat on Saturday. He was limited to 119 passing yards and 11 rushing yards in a 35-13 loss.

Now, the Bears face a team that has won three of its last four at home.

“They’re looking to rebound and right the ship and it’s important that we learn how to do that,” Chicago coach Matt Eberflus said. “We’ve got to learn how to finish games, learn how to execute at those moments. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

The Bears, who host Minnesota in their season finale, have gone winless since a 33-14 triumph over New England on Oct. 24. They’ve produced 20 points or fewer in the last four games.

“We want to finish these two games off strong,” Eberflus said. “We’ve got a lot of development to do, a lot of things to look at and a lot of players we want to evaluate.”

Bears wide receivers Chase Claypool (knee) and Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion) didn’t practice on Wednesday. Center Frank Ragnow (foot) and safeties Kerby Joseph (back) and DeShon Elliott (shoulder) were among the Lions held out of Wednesday’s practice.

–Field Level Media