JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After missing a game due to an ankle injury, Falcons running back/wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson returned and wore cleats designed to honor Ahmaud Arbery and his family during pre-game warmups.
Arbery, a young Black man, was killed by three white men, who were found guilty of murder in Brunswick last week.
“I’m pretty sure that we all (saw) what happened,” Patterson said after powering the Falcons to a 21-14 win over the Jaguars on Sunday. “I just got to show my respect to his family, man. That (situation) was tragic. That could have been my son that was just jogging down the street. People just pulled up on him and killed him.”
Patterson, who’s in his first season with the Falcons, is from Rock Hill, S.C. and played in the SEC at Tennessee. He was a former first-round draft pick by the Vikings, but has flourished with the Falcons this season.
Patterson wanted to show his human side after the game.
“That’s something that we have to deal with every day,” Patterson said. “Unfortunately, we do. That’s the part I like. This football stuff really doesn’t mean (much) because we’ve got so much going on outside. People don’t understand. They just think we are football players, but we are human, too.”
“We've always got a target on our backs. Every time. You just have to be careful man. Do the right thing. Just always try to get home safe. Because our families depends on us. I've got kids, girls, and they are always making sure that we are safe. It's unfortunate that had to happen. I'm sorry for him and his family. I just had to honor him, wearing his cleats."
Patterson believes that Black people have a target on their backs.
“We’ve always got a target on our backs,” Patterson said. “Every time. You just have to be careful man. Do the right thing. Just always try to get home safe. Because our families depends on us. I’ve got kids, girls, and they are always making sure that we are safe.
“It’s unfortunate that had to happen. I’m sorry for him and his family. I just had to honor him, wearing his cleats.”
The cleats had “R.I.P. Ahmaud Arbery” on one side and “Hate cannot drive out hate. Only (heart sign) can do that.” They also had ‘Stop systemic racism.”
In addition to wearing the cleats, Patterson turned in a spectacular game. He rushed 16 times for a career-high 108 yards and score touchdowns on runs of 7 and 12 yards. He also caught two passes for 27 yards.
Patterson didn’t play much in the second half of the 43-3 blowout by the Cowboys on Nov. 14 and didn’t play in the 25-0 loss to the Patriots. The Falcons’ offense struggled with him out and rookie tight end Kyle Pitts not ready to carry the offense.
“I practiced all week and I was just excited to be back honestly,” Patterson said.
Fullback Keith Smith had a nice lead block of Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack on Patterson’s 12-yard touchdown run.
“Keith is always getting a block for me, man,” Patterson said. “Every time that I score it’s like Keith is in the mix. Honestly, man, the offensive line, they did a heck of a job today.”
Falcons coach Arthur Smith had been stressing the run game. The Falcons entered the game averaging 78.6 yards rushing per game, which ranked 30th out of 32 team in the league.
“Coach, he pointed out all week that we needed to do better in the run game,” Patterson said. “We all took it to heart. The offensive line came and showed what they really can do.”
Patterson gave the blocking all of the credit on his both touchdown runs.
“With that blocking, how could I not score,” Patterson said. “That offensive line did a heck of a job and Keith Smith is the best fullback in the game. He’s always showing up and making that key block for us.”
The Falcons rushed 29 times for a season-high 150 yards. The previous high was 124 yards on 26 carries in the season-opener against the Eagles on Sept. 12.
Without Patterson, the offense struggled.
“I’m a big part of this offense,” Patterson said. “That’s a no brainer, man. I mean, from the outside looking in, you can see that. I love it here. I love when I’m out there on the field competing, having fun. That’s always something that I’m doing. When I’m out there I’m going to give it my all.”
In addition to Patterson, Wayne Gallman rushed four times for 19 yards, Mike Davis rushed five times for 16 yards and quarterback Matt Ryan rushed four times for 6 yards.
“We know we can do it,” Patterson said. “We just all had to get together and work together. The running backs have to get the right tracks. The offensive line had to get their blocks. We just have to trust in the offensive line that they are going to get their job done.”
After one his first touchdown, Patterson was seen yelling “This is my (stuff)” at Davis.
“I just love football, man,” Patterson said. “I’m so emotional out on the field. I just say a lot of things I probably don’t mean. I’m just having fun. Man, I’m a kid at heart. You can’t take that away from me. You know, I’m out there having fun. I’m smiling. I’m joking. It’s just fun to me man. I just love this game.”
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