Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu’s first game with the Falcons included two highlight plays. But he missed a chance to make a play to extend the final drive and sustained an ankle injury on the play.
Sanu limped off of the field after he appeared to take an awkward step while trying to plant and catch Matt Ryan’s pass beyond the first-down marker on third-and-10. The ball fell incomplete and the Buccaneers batted down Ryan’s fourth-down pass attempt to secure the 31-24 victory at the Georgia Dome on Sunday.
Sanu said his cleat got caught in the turf, buckling his leg and throwing off his timing on the catch attempt.
“I planted hard because I saw the open window, and I kind of got stuck,” Sanu said. “It was kind of weird.”
Sanu was walking gingerly on the ankle in the locker room following the game. He said he should be fine.
Sanu couldn’t make the catch on his final play but he led all Falcons wide receivers with five catches for 80 yards and also had a touchdown and two-point conversion catch. Sanu’s 59-yard reception in the first quarter set up a game-tying field goal and his 5-yard TD reception later in the period put the Falcons ahead 10-3.
Sanu was wide open on his 59-yard catch-and-run. He emerged from a bunch of three wide receivers for the touchdown catch.
“It felt very good,” Sanu said of the score. “But it’s not important. What’s important is getting the win. We had an opportunity at the end and it’s unfortunate what happened. We will bounce back.”
The Falcons signed Sanu to a five-year contract that includes $14 million guaranteed. He replaces Roddy White as the No. 2 receiver opposite Julio Jones.
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