Atlanta Falcons’ playoff hopes renewed by win over Bears

Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Abdullah Anderson needed just four words to explain the significance of a 27-24 win over the visiting Chicago Bears on Sunday.

“We needed this one.”

The win moved the Falcons (5-6) within a half-game of NFC South Division-leading Tampa Bay (5-5), which was on a bye last week. The victory, which ended a two-game losing streak that had the Falcons’ season on the verge of spiraling out of control, has the Falcons in the thick of the playoff race heading into their final six games.

The Falcons visit the Washington Commanders (6-5) on Sunday, but don’t play any team the rest of the way that has a winning record except for the Baltimore Ravens (7-3), who they face on Dec. 24.

The Falcons will head into the final stretch of the regular season without tight end Kyle Pitts and defensive tackle Ta’Quon Graham.

Pitts suffered a torn MCL, which would require surgery, according to NFL Network. Graham was carted off the field after injuring his knee.

Pitts has 28 receptions for 356 yards and two touchdowns after his 1,026 receiving yards last year were the second-most ever by a rookie tight end and trailed only Kansas City’s Travis Kelce and Baltimore’s Mark Andrews for the league lead at the position. Graham has 15 tackles and has teamed with Grady Jarrett to form on the league’s best interior duos.

The Falcons are in position to make an unlikely playoff run because they played complimentary football against the Chicago Bears (3-8).

Marcus Mariota went 13-for-20 passing for 131 yards and touchdown, in addition to rushing for 25 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Tyler Allgeier ran for 55 yards on eight carries to lead a rushing attack that amassed 149 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries.

The Falcons held Bears quarterback Justin Fields to 153 yards with a touchdown and an interception. While Fields rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, Atlanta held the Bears to just seven points in the game’s final 34:31.

Field had rushed for 325 yards in the past two games, the most by a quarterback in a two-game span in NFL history, besting Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, who ran for 268 on Oct. 13 and 20, 2019, during his MVP season. In the past five weeks before facing the Falcons, Fields had run for 555 yards the past five weeks, the most in a five-game span by a quarterback in the Super Bowl era.

“It was a heavyweight fight,” Falcon coach Arthur Smith said. “You’ve got two teams that are physical, and thankfully we were able to grind them out.”

The Falcons’ special teams won the game.

Younghoe Koo followed his 40-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter with a 53-yarder with 1:40 left that gave the Falcons the lead for good.

Cordarrelle Patterson made history with his NFL record ninth kickoff return for a touchdown. He countered Fields’ 4-yard touchdown run that gave the Bears a 17-7 lead with 4:31 left in the half with a 103-yard scoring run into the record books.

“Perfect day for it and the perfect time,” Jarrett said. “We needed a big play.”

It was the Falcons’ first kickoff return for a touchdown since Eric Weems’ 102-yard return in the second quarter of a 48-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs in January 2011. It was Atlanta’s first in the regular season since Weems took one back 102 yards in a 28-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in December 2010.

Patterson, who played for the Bears from 2019-2020, had two career kickoff returns for scores for Bears, five as member of the Minnesota Vikings and one as a New England Patriot.

But it was his ninth kickoff return for a touchdown that elevated him above Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington, who each have eight career kickoff returns for touchdowns.

“Defense, offense, special teams,” said Patterson, who also had 10 carries for 52 yards. “We all stood up together as a unit. You don’t want offense going out and doing everything, you don’t want defense going out and doing everything and the same for special teams. We come as a unit and if we can continue to do that and grow, we’ll be special man.”

It was the third time Patterson returned a kickoff for a touchdown against the Bears in his 10-year career.

“I’m definitely super proud of him setting the record against his former team,” Jarrett said. “Just a true pro. He’s doing his thing and we’re a totally different team with him on the field.”

The Falcons’ defense, which had struggled mightily in a Week 10 loss to the Carolina Panthers, held Chicago’s league-leading rushing attack to 160 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries.

Free safety Jaylinn Hawkins’ intercepted Fields with 1:06 left to secure the victory.

“I think we took last week real personal, especially on the defensive front,” Anderson said. “It’s not the performance we want, and we had to look at ourselves in the mirror and say look, ‘We want to stop the run. This is the No. 1 rushing offense in the league.’ We made that the emphasis. To say that we didn’t play how we wanted to play last week, let’s step it up this week.”