The Atlanta Falcons are reportedly in pursuit of pass rushers at the NFL trade deadline Nov. 5 — and one of their targets has emerged.

Atlanta is “keeping an eye” on New York Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.

Ojulari has six sacks and seven quarterback hits in eight games this season. The Atlanta Falcons have six sacks in eight games this season. The 24-year-old has started three contests for New York this season, collecting 24 tackles and six tackles for loss.

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Hailing from Austell, Ga., and the University of Georgia, Ojulari’s return to the Peach State would be a welcomed addition to a Falcons pass rush that ranks last in the NFL.

And according to Russini, Atlanta is not only interested in upgrading the unit, but likely to do so.

“GM Terry Fontenot knows (the Falcons) need help. So it’s no surprise they are exploring options, and I expect them to make a move,” Russini said.

Russini’s report supports that of Bleacher Report NFL insider James Palmer, who said earlier this week the Falcons are exploring options to help their pass rush.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Atlanta lands an edge,” Palmer said. “They are in the market looking for another piece because they know where they’re at right now. Keep an eye on them still looking at edge rushers. They already made one move right before the start of the season.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they went and made another.”

Ojulari may be the answer — and his interest around the league is growing, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

As teams grow unwilling to meet the price needed for other defensive ends, such as the Cleveland Browns’ Za’Darius Smith, Ojulari’s stock is rising.

“Giants pass rusher Azeez Ojulari’s name has heated up in recent days,” Fowler wrote. “Teams that had him as a fringe option now believe he could get moved by Tuesday.”

And the Falcons could be the team who pulls the trigger.

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Atlanta, GA- The Hawks were shorthanded yet again tonight, but were hopeful to pull the upset vs a healthy Sacramento team that was playing well coming into the game. They trailed by as many as 18 in the game, but they fought to to tie it in the fourth quarter. However, they ran out of gas and lost their fourth straight game as a result.

For three quarters, the Hawks’s defense was the same as it usually was, but they played their best defensive fourth quarter of the year, yet it was not enough. It was a combination of poor offense and fouls that sunk Atlanta’s chances late in the game. After tying the game up 109-109 with under six minutes to go, the Hawks only scored six points the rest of the way and the duo of De’Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan closed the game out.

The Hawks offense did ont have its best night, but they got huge contributions from Garrison Matthews off the bench, as well as Keaton Wallace. Matthews was arguably the Hawks best player tonight, scoring 23 points on 7-13 from three. Keaton Wallace had 14 points on 4-8 from three and was also solid defensively down the stretch. Wallace and Matthews both closed the game for Atlanta.

It was not the most efficient night for Trae Young, but he played well. He scored 25 points and had 12 assists on 8-21 shooting and 3-9 from three. After the game, head coach Quin Snyder had a lot of praise for Young and the game that he played tonight:

“Everybody should get their pens out and start writing about Trae Young because he’s he was poised with the officials from the very beginning of the game, he got blitzed. He trusted his teammates, he wasn’t selfish, he got off the ball early to shooters, then he started hitting Clint in the role. He managed the game, took a charge of six minutes left in the game, and if anybody doesn’t look at his performance tonight, and, and respect the mental toughness that he has to play with right now. When everything’s going through him with admiration for his competitiveness and the trust he has in his teammates, he was– the guy was unbelievable. He was unbelievable. and not diminishing other guys’ efforts, but that was a hell of a performance. And we shouldn’t lose track of that because we lost the game, okay?”

It was a so-so night for Jalen Johnson. He scored 14 points on 4-10 shooting and also had nine assists as well as five rebounds. It was not a horrible night for Johnson, but he did not affect the game in a big way.

Both Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu were solid for the Hawks tonight. Okongwu has been playing the majority of the minutes, but Capela got the bigger workload tonight and had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Okongwu had 11 points and four rebounds.

This was probably the worst game of young Zaccharie Risacher’s career. He hit the first basket of the entire game, but finished 1-9. Risacher has been able to affect the game in other ways this season, but this was not one of those nights. He was a team worst -25 when on the court and did not play in the fourth quarter. There are better nights ahead for Risacher, but this is one he will want to forget.

The Hawks finished the game shooting 45% from the field and 38% from three. It was a so-so performance overall on that end of the floor.

It was a rough night for the Hawks on defense, at least until the fourth quarter. Sacramento shot 48% from the field and 33% from three in this game. De’Aaron Fox, who was probably the best player on the court, shot 11-16 from the field and finished with 31 points. DeMar DeRozan had 27 points and eight rebounds. The Kings held a big rebounding advantage over the Hawks 51-40.

Overall, this was a game that Atlanta had a chance to steal late, but they struggled throughout, especially on defense. Being shorthanded against a good team did not help either and it resulted in a disappointing loss on Friday night. The Hawks are back in action on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, speaking during his press conference Friday, ruled out second-round defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro and fifth-round linebacker JD Bertrand for Sunday’s game.

Orhorhoro suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter of last Sunday’s 31-26 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He did not participate in practice this week.

Bertrand sustained a concussion and also hasn’t practiced. A reserve linebacker, Bertrand has been a steady contributor for the Falcons on special teams.

Apart from the two rookies’ absences, the Falcons have three players questionable: right guard Chris Lindstrom, linebacker Troy Andersen and center Drew Dalman.

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Lindstrom hurt his knee in the third quarter against Tampa Bay, and while he was cleared to return, he did not see the field again. He was out of Wednesday’s practice before returning Thursday.

Andersen hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury in Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints. He had a team-high 44 tackles at the time of his injury.

Dalman was activated off injured reserve earlier this week. He injured his ankle in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs and hasn’t played since. He’s been a limited participant in practice throughout the week but was a full-go Friday.

Others on the injury report but cleared to play include safety Justin Simmons (hamstring), linebacker Kaden Elliss (knee) and nickel cornerback Antonio Hamilton Sr. (back).

The Falcons (5-3) and Cowboys (3-4) will kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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