Getty Cordarrelle Patterson of the Atlanta Falcons stiff arms Denzel Ward of the Cleveland Browns.
Atlanta Falcons star running back, Cordarrelle Patterson, has at least two more weeks until he is eligible to return from injured reserve.
The Falcons sent Patterson to IR at the beginning of October following a minor knee procedure.
Once Patterson returns to practice, the Falcons will have a 21-day window to see if he is ready to be activated or needs more time to heal.
But so far, it looks like he’ll be right on schedule after posting a workout video on Twitter of himself running sprints.
Almost that time!
Prior to Landing on IR, Patterson Posted 2 Career-Highs
Before heading to IR, Patterson posted not one, but two career days.
All the way back in Week 1, Patterson ended up with a heftier workload than expected versus the New Orleans Saints.
After running back Damien Williams went down with a rib injury following the first play of the Falcons’ second drive, Patterson took over––and he didn’t disappoint.
In the second quarter, Patterson ran all over the Saints and capped it off with a five-yard rushing touchdown, marking the Falcons’ first one of the 2022 season.
CP capping off 8 carries for 52 yards with a TD.
Though the Falcons lost 27-26, Patterson was a bright light, leading the backfield with 22 carries for 120 yards and a score.
And prior to that day, the Saints’ defense had not allowed 100 rushing yards in 20-straight games.
Patterson Topped Week 1 With a New High in Week 3
And as if Patterson couldn’t get any better from there––he did.
In the Falcons’ 27-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Patterson logged a career-high 141 rushing yards on 17 carries and one touchdown.
The 31-year-old also showed off his hops.
CP said 🐇.
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Patterson was named Week 3’s NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his outstanding performance.
At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Patterson isn’t your typical running back build, which ultimately works out in his favor.
But what’s his secret? “He skips leg day so he has little scrawny legs,” fullback Keith Smith said, via ESPN––jokingly, obviously.
“But them things be moving and he’ll run through arm tackles and whether you hit him low, high, it don’t really matter because I think it’s just his will power is there and he just has that mindset he’s going to run through anything.”
Before getting injured, Patterson sat in the top five rushers (via ESPN stats). He was also the oldest outdoing a majority of the young star backs in the league.
- Nick Chubb: 26 (341 rush yds)
- Saquon Barkley: 25 (317 rush yds)
- Cordarrelle Patterson: 31 (302 rush yds)
- Jonathan Taylor: 23 (286 rush yds)
- Lamar Jackson: 25 (243 rush yds)
- Christian McCaffrey: 26 (243 rush yds)
With Patterson sidelined the Falcons’ own young running backs, rookie Tyler Allgeier and second-year back Caleb Huntley, have stepped up in a massive way. Heading into Week 7, Allgeier has logged 28 carries for 96 yards, while Huntley has recorded 25 carries for 93 yards. Mariota has also been a solid help on the ground.
You can tell that head coach Arthur Smith has enjoyed establishing the run game as the Chicago Bears are no longer the NFL’s run-heaviest offense. Instead, Smith’s crew has called a pass play for a league-low of 48 percent of the time.