The bright spots of this Falcons team have been few and far between through the first quarter of the season. In Arthur Smith’s first season as a head coach, Atlanta hasn’t inspired much confidence. Still, they have seemingly improved in a different facet every week, which is all you can ask.
Four weeks into the 2021 season, the Falcons have only won a single game, which came against the lowly New York Football Giants. Atlanta lost excruciatingly last week against the Washington Football Team, but Pro Football Focus still selected two members of the Falcons for their NFL First Quarter All-Pro Team — Chris Lindstrom and Cordarrelle Patterson.
For four weeks, Lindstrom has been the Falcons’ best offensive linemen, including Jake Matthews, because of the veteran’s lack of consistency in the run game. The third-year guard out of Boston College has been playing elite football and would’ve been first-team if not for Zack Martin, a consensus future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Lindstrom’s week-to-week success is even more incredible when considering his supporting cast. Matt Hennessy and Kaleb McGary are liabilities in pass sets, yet Lindstrom still looks phenomenal in between them. Moreover, he’s been graded by PFF in the top five every week this season.
RG Chris Lindstrom has graded in the top-5 every week this season for #Falcons offensive grades. Definitely a bright spot this year.
— Evan Birchfield (@EvanBirchfield) October 4, 2021
Patterson has been equally impressive. Against Washington, he had the best offensive outing of his career. He scored three touchdowns on 116 yards from scrimmage and is clearly becoming a focal point of Smith’s offense. Patterson is incredibly versatile, able to play running back and wide receiver, which he showed in three different ways while scoring touchdowns against Washington.
Last week, Patterson lined up out wide and scored his first touchdown on a post-over route combination; the second came later in the first half on an out route when Patterson was aligned in the backfield. On that play, he displays the physicality he runs with, breaking the first tackle and diving past the goal line. Patterson then lines up on the boundary again in the second half, where he recorded his third touchdown of the day on a back shoulder fade that he perfectly high-pointed.
He’s been the second-highest graded running back in the NFL through Week 4 too.
Through Week 4, #Falcons Cordarrelle Patterson is the NFL’s 2nd highest graded RB with a 83.9.
Patterson’s currently the highest graded RB for Week 4 with a 91.5.
— Evan Birchfield (@EvanBirchfield) October 4, 2021
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