Falcons injuries bred opportunity for rookie, who is making the most of it

The Falcons entered their Week 13 contest shorthanded against the Buccaneers, and they left with even more injuries.

Atlanta was without Kaleb McGary, Drew Dalman, David Onyemata, Nate Landman, and Jeff Okudah but also saw Chris Lindstrom, Jake Matthews, and Kentavius Street exit Sunday’s tilt.

It’s a devastating reality for a club that desperately needs to beat the Panthers this weekend to keep their playoff hopes alive. However, if there was a silver lining, it was the emerging talents getting an opportunity. Falcons injuries are breeding an opening.

In place of McGary, Storm Norton got the start, and he performed admirably. Ryan Nuezil slotted in at center for Dalman and was also serviceable. No reserve looked as impressive as Clark Phillips III, though.

Two weeks ago against the Jets, the Falcons saw both starting cornerbacks go down, resulting in Phillips getting the nod off the bench. Matched up against one of the top pass catchers in the league in Garrett Wilson, Phillips only allowed a pair of receptions for 13 yards.

It was an encouraging outing, but circumstances were different against the Bucs, whose offense possesses a much different capacity to threaten defenses than the Jets. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are big-bodied pass catchers who present a difficult matchup for a smaller-frame cornerback like Phillips.

Fortunately, A.J. Terrell passed concussion protocol and nearly shut Evans out, who only recorded eight yards on one reception, leaving Phillips to the lesser pass catchers. The result was more than encouraging.

The Falcons’ fifth-round rookie allowed no catches on six targets and notched two pass breakups. Undersized and slow, many draft analysts knocked the Utah product, but the kid showed he’s got the chops to cut it in the NFL.

Arthur Smtih had a ton of praise for Phillips.