FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons (6-7) are heading back to a prime-time slot this Monday night as they face the Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) at Allegiant Stadium. The last time the Falcons played a Monday Night Football game was in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Defeating the Eagles in Philadelphia on a final-minute stand was one of the highest points of the Falcons' 2024 season.

That day for the Falcons is long gone, though, as Atlanta finds itself on a four-game skid, having lost out on the top spot in the NFC South when the Buccaneers beat the Raiders last week.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas is on a skid of their own, if not more significant than that of the Falcons. The Raiders have lost their last nine games, and are coming into the Monday night bout against the Falcons a bit banged up.

Here are the other storylines you need to know before kickoff Monday.

Injury update (Falcons' version)

The Falcons have already ruled inside linebacker Troy Andersen (knee) and wide receiver Casey Washington (concussion) out of Monday's game.

Andersen has been up and down the injury and game reports since suffering a knee injury in the Falcons' Week 4 win against the New Orleans Saints. That week, Andersen was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Since then, though, the knee injury has lingered. And though Andersen did play in both of the Falcons' last two games against the Chargers and Vikings, he has not been back in action at all throughout Week 15's practice. Thus, his inactive status.

The only player who was given a questionable designation was defensive lineman Ruke Orhorhoro, who is working back to 100% from an ankle injury that sent him to injured reserve last month. The Falcons opened Orhorhoro's window to return to the active roster last Wednesday when the rookie officially returned to practice. The Falcons have 21 days to elevate Orhorhoro to the active roster.

Injury update (Raiders' version)

The Raiders will be without their leading pass rusher — and one of the league's most dominant — this Monday with Maxx Crosby officially ruled out. Crosby suffered an ankle injury in the Raiders' last game, and while he did finish the game last week, he didn't return to practice in Week 15. He posted on Instagram Saturday evening that the injury will require surgery that will end his season. This is a big loss for a Raiders team hoping to capitalize on Kirk Cousins' recent struggles from the pocket.

The other major storyline coming out of Vegas is the Raiders' quarterback situation. Like Crosby, starting quarterback Aidan O'Connell suffered an injury last week that kept him out of practice this week, too. O'Connell — who's injury was to his knee — did get a better report after initial testing, though, with reports coming out that he suffered a bone bruise and that all of his ligaments were intact.

O'Connell was ultimately listed as questionable on Saturday's game report, with reports coming out of Vegas that same day that the Raiders had yet to lean one way or another with the decision of who to start at quarterback this Sunday against the Falcons. Will it be O'Connell... or Desmond Ridder? We'll talk about Ridder in a couple sections.

A bounce-back opportunity

Regardless of what ultimately happens at the quarterback position for Las Vegas, one problem remains the same: Containing Brock Bowers.

In his rookie season, Bowers is putting up historic numbers for a tight end. He leads all rookies in receiving yards (933) and receptions (87). Bowers is No. 5 overall in yards amongst NFL receivers. As Jessie Bates III said this week: Bowers is "one of a kind."

"He's done a really good job of coming in and putting his mark on the league, and they've done a really good job of getting him the ball and opportunities to make big plays," Bates said. "You always got to know where he's at, and I'm excited to go against him for sure."

A chunk of any Raiders success offensively stems from the mismatch Bowers presents. If the Falcons can neutralize his threat level, that would go a long way in limiting what the Raiders can — and want to — do. From a confidence standpoint, this is a good opportunity for the Falcons secondary to redeem themselves following arguably the group's worst outing in 2024 against the Vikings last week. The group gave up over 150-yards receiving to both Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison last time out. Bowers is not fair removed from a 140-yard performance in Week 13.

How this Falcons secondary steps back up after being knocked down in Minnesota will something to monitor, especially with the challenge Bowers presents.

Scoring in the red area

When the Falcons get to the red zone, they have to score points. Period. That's it.

According to this week's Nerdy Birds report, since Week 10 the Falcons have the lowest percentage of three-and-outs in the league (12.5%) and average more plays per drive (6.9) than any other team in the NFL. However, Atlanta ranks 29th in points per drive (1.43) and touchdown rate (12.5%).

So, yeah, it goes without saying that this needs to change. And with the Raiders on deck, it should. Las Vegas' defense isn't known for its ability to keep points off the board. In fact, as we pointed out in this week's Falcons Final Whistle podcast, it's the opposite.

The Raiders are 25th in the league in red-zone defense, and 30th in points allowed per game. So, again, the Falcons need to score Monday.

Kirk Cousins' redemption or Desmond Ridder's revenge?

Once all is said and done the story of the game will be one of two things in my mind. It'll either be about Cousins pulling himself up by his boot straps and putting together a performance that builds his own confidence and that of the fan base's confidence in him. Cousins has not thrown a touchdown pass in four games. He's simultaneously thrown double that in interceptions in the same time frame. Cousins needs redemption, and he has an opportunity to find it in front of a national audience in prime time.

But then, there's the Ridder of it all. Falcons fans know Ridder well. He was drafted by Atlanta, called for by the fan base when Marcus Mariota struggled. He was named the Falcons' starting quarterback heading into the 2023 season. He was benched for Taylor Heinicke towards the back half of said season. Then, the Falcons traded Ridder to the Cardinals in exchange for Rondale Moore, where he spent a couple months on the practice squad. He was signed off said practice squad by the Raiders in October. If Ridder plays and plays well, beating the team that drafted him, started him and traded him, that would be the story of the game.

But which one will it be? That's the question.

Player of the Game prediction: Bijan Robinson

Honestly, I wanted to put the entire Falcons' run game into this section. Because of the issues turnovers have presented the unit in the last couple losses, what Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and the entire blocking core has done in the run game is something I thoroughly enjoyed watching.

And it should be a unit that actually has quite a bit of confidence after performing the way it did against the league's top run defense in Minnesota. With questions about Cousins lingering the longer he goes without a touchdown pass, the run game could be an easy way for the Falcons to move the ball Monday night. And if they're running the ball, that means Robinson is getting touches.

So far in 2024, Robinson has 1,463 yards from scrimmage. He needs just 24 rushing yards this Sunday to crack 1,000-yards rushing in a single season — the first time in his career he's done so. In theory, he should surpass that margin with ease seeing as he is averaging 57 yards per game. And if the Falcons go to the run often and with success? It could — and maybe should be — even higher.