With the Falcons one game out of a Wild Card birth, there is an outside chance Atlanta could make the postseason in Arthur Smith’s first season. The roster is below average, the coaching has been meh, but wins and losses are the only things that matter. The most glaring statistic of the Falcons season is their point differential (-103) despite where they sit in their division and conference.
The Falcons gave fans another scare Sunday against the Jaguars, an extraordinarily undisciplined and under-coached football team. Jacksonville made several mistakes that gave the Falcons many chances to pull away, which they could not. Atlanta staved off a potential Jaguars comeback, thanks to the lack of offensive firepower Trevor Lawrence has at his disposal.
In a must-win game against possibly the worst team in the league, the Falcons stopped a two-game losing streak where Atlanta’s offense didn’t put up a single touchdown. A big reason why Matt Ryan & Co. were unable to put up any points was the absence of Cordarrelle Patterson. Of course, he played half the game against the Cowboys, and there are a number of reasons why the team couldn’t muster a touchdown against Dallas and New England; however, it is easy to see how important Patterson is to this offense.
Against the Jaguars on Sunday, Patterson set game-high numbers in several statistics. He finished the day with 135 total yards and two touchdowns on 18 total touches; however, most of those came on the ground. Patterson rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries — all career-highs. He’s re-set his career-high in rushing attempts three different times this season, which just shows how differently the Falcons staff has been using him.
Patterson is vital to the overall success of the Falcons offense, and he’s playing well above his $3 million cap hit this season. It might be worth extending Patterson if the numbers work out, but he’s pricing himself out of Atlanta to this point. Terry Fontenot isn’t going to overpay for him, and he shouldn’t. However, fans can expect to hear about many more of these record-setting performances from Patterson; he’s on pace to break nearly every personal best.
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