Taylor Heinicke struggles as Falcons lose to Bears, leaving them with narrow path to playoffs

CHICAGO (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons had a chance to increase their slim chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 2017. They failed. And a familiar problem played a major role. Taylor Heinicke threw three of Atlanta’s four interceptions during the Falcons’ 37-17 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. He was 10 for 29 for 163 yards in his second straight start after Desmond Ridder was benched for the second time this season. “Ultimately, when you turn the ball over four times and don’t get any takeaways, that’s a recipe for a bad result,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. Atlanta (7-9) had a chance to move into a tie for the NFC South lead, but it lost for the third time in four games. It stayed in the postseason race thanks to Tampa Bay’s& 23-13 loss& to New Orleans. The Falcons can still take the division if they win at New Orleans next weekend and the Buccaneers lose or tie at Carolina. There is no pathway to a wild card for Atlanta. “The fact that we still have a chance going into Week 18, last week of the season, the fact that we’re still in that,...