1. The no-spin zone: There was a Cordarrelle Patterson sighting in Tampa.
Patterson, who had only one carry in the Falcons’ first six games of the season, had 10 carries for 56 yards Sunday and ran over a few Bucs defenders along the way.
With Bijan Robinson sick, the Falcons needed to lean on Patterson, who turned 32 in March.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith was asked about the importance of Patterson regaining his form against the Bucs.
“Well, that’s why you can adapt,” Smith said. “Part of the plan, if we needed Bijan to play more, CP may have played a little bit of a different role, but we had things in, and you always have to have contingency plans. When you have flexibility like that, it allows you to take care of somebody if you need to.”
Patterson was slowed during training camp with a soft-tissue injury. He was inactive for the second game of the season with a thigh injury. He’s been working his way back into shape and into the lineup.
The game against the Bucs was the first time that we saw some vintage power running by Patterson, who loves to take the cut-back lanes and punish defenders in his way.
“He always rallies,” Smith said. “He’s a unique football player. That’s why I enjoy coaching him.”
Patterson had a big run of 18 yards in the fourth quarter.
“He made some big plays for us,” Smith said. “That’s just the way the game evolved, but I know as the game went on, Tyler (Allgeier) and him both were harder and harder to tackle.”
2. Loaded boxes: With teams putting eight and nine men near the line of scrimmage, the Falcons had to figure out a way to run against the loaded boxes.
They chose physicality with Patterson and Allgeier.
“I think our intent – every week’s a little bit different – obviously we want to be balanced, but the flow of the game, kind of what they’ve been doing, some things we wanted to try to attack, but they certainly – CP and Tyler ran really hard,” Smith said. “Those are two guys that are tough to tackle. It was hot down there. Again, in that kind of environment, both of those guys played really well.”
3. Who’s at quarterback: Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill, 35, who is in his 11th season, did not practice Tuesday.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel said if he doesn’t play, Malik Willis and Will Levis will play against the Falcons.
The Titans picked a quarterback in each of the past two NFL drafts: Willis (Roswell and Westlake high schools) in the third round (86th overall) in 2022 and Levis in the second round (33rd overall) in 2023.
4. Heavy dose of Derrick Henry: The Titans are built around Derrick Henry, who has rushed 98 times for 425 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Henry, who played at Alabama and has three thousand-yard seasons and one 2,000-yard season in the NFL, has a quality backup in rookie Tyjae Spears, who has rushed 31 times for 171 yards and a touchdown.
The Falcons lead the league in fewest rushing touchdowns allowed, with one. The win over the Bucs was the Falcons’ fourth consecutive game without giving up a rushing touchdown.
The Bucs’ featured back was Rachaad White. The Falcons know they are stepping up in weight class by facing Henry and Spears, who was a standout at Tulane.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC
5. Jonnu Smith returns: Falcons tight end Jonnu Smith spent the first four seasons of his career with the Titans. They drafted him in the third round out of Florida International in 2017. Smith played the past two seasons in New England before he was traded to the Falcons in March. He is off to a fine start after reuniting with his former Tennessee position coach in Arthur Smith. Jonnu Smith has 28 catches for 309 yards and a touchdown.
“Of course there are some guys and familiar faces over there that (I’ve) got a lot of love and respect for,” Smith said. “We’ll just go in and handle our business and play our brand of football.”
Smith acknowledged that Nashville holds a special place in his heart. “That’s where it all started,” Smith said. “That’s where I got my phone call on draft day with all of my family in the room. It was the Tennessee Titans, it wasn’t (anyone) else. So, of course, I’ll always have a unique place in my heart, personally. That day can never be taken away from me.”
6. Series history: This will be the 16th meeting between the teams. The Titans lead 8-7.
In the last meeting, on Sept. 29, 2019, Henry rushed 27 times for 100 yards and a touchdown in a 24-10 Tennessee victory.
7. Where to watch, listen and livestream:
TV: CBS. Play-by-Play: Beth Mowins. Analysis: Jay Feely, James Lofton. Sideline: Amanda Guerra.
Local radio: 92.9 The Game. Play-by-play: Wes Durham. Analyst: Dave Archer. Executive producer: Beau Morgan. Engineer: Miller Pope. Pregame/postgame show – Hosts: Chris Goforth and Mike Johnson, with Dylan Matthews and Orin Romain as studio producers at 11 a.m.
Satellite radio: SiriusXM NFL Radio. Falcons channel 156 or 391 or the App. Titans channel 108 or 232 or the App. (Games also are available on the SiriusXM App. Fans can find their team’s channel under the “NFL Play-by-Play” tab or by searching their team’s name.)
Livestream: Streaming inside the Atlanta market: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app. NFL app (subscription required). Out of the country: GamePass International.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
8. Roster move: The Falcons signed backup defensive tackle LaCale London to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.
In a corresponding move, the team released defensive tackle Eli Ankou.
London, 26, was promoted from the practice squad to the game-day roster for the past two games. He had four total tackles (one solo), his first career fumble recovery and one tackle for loss. He’s 6-foot-3 and 297 pounds and played at Western Illinois.
“He’s been balling,” Falcons linebacker Nate Landman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday.
London (32 defensive snaps, 44%) and defensive tackle Ta’Quon Graham (21, 29%) played a lot against the Bucs on Sunday, and that allowed the Falcons to keep David Onyemata (42, 58%) and Grady Jarrett (41, 56%) under 60% in the Florida heat.
London is a former XFL standout for the St. Louis Battlehawks. He also played one game with the Bears in 2021.
9. Depth chart: Here’s the official depth chart for Sunday:
OFFENSE
WR Mack Hollins, KhaDarel Hodge
TE Kyle Pitts, John FitzPatrick
LT Jake Matthews
LG Matthew Bergeron, Jovaughn Gwyn
C Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil
RG Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton
RT Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton
TE Jonnu Smith, MyCole Pruitt
WR Drake London, Scotty Miller, Van Jefferson
FB Keith Smith (Team list him as Pitts backup, but lines up at fullback in games)
RB Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier
J Cordarrelle Patterson
QB Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, Logan Woodside
DEFENSE
DL Grady Jarrett, Albert Huggins, LaCale London
DL David Onyemata, Ta’Quon Graham
DE Calais Campbell, Zach Harrison, Joe Gaziano
OLB Bud Dupree, Lorenzo Carter
ILB Kaden Elliss
ILB Nate Landman, Tae Davis
OLB Arnold Ebiketie, DeAngelo Malone
CB A.J. Terrell, Mike Hughes
S Jessie Bates III, Micah Abernathy
S Richie Grant, DeMarcco Hellams
NB Dee Alford, Clark Phillips III
CB Jeff Okudah, Tre Flowers
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Younghoe Koo
P Bradley Pinion
LS Liam McCullough
H Bradley Pinion
PR Mike Hughes, Dee Alford, *Scotty Miller (Team lists Dee Alford as No. 1, but he has not returned any punts this season)
KOR Cordarrelle Patterson, Mike Hughes
* Added as third punt returner since he went in for Alford versus the Panthers.
The Bow Tie Chronicles
About the Author
