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Greg Auman
NFC South Reporter
ATLANTA — Falcons safety Jessie Bates had just run 92 yards for a pick-six, so he was far too excited and/or tired to contemplate a celebration, but teammate Bud Dupree made a suggestion.
“We’ve been talking about doing a celebration all year: Throw the ball up like a bomb and everybody falls,” Bates said. “I was so hyped I couldn’t even think about anything, but I saw Bud, and he was like ‘Do the bomb! Do the bomb!’ So I throw the ball up for everybody and we were really [choreographed]. Just shows how well-connected this team is getting.”
Atlanta ended a three-game losing streak with a 24-15 win over the Saints, and even though the Falcons are 5-6 on the season, that’s good enough for first place in the NFC South, a tiebreaker ahead of New Orleans (5-6). It was a game won by their defense in the red zone — the Saints had five trips and mustered only three field goals from those, with Bates nearly outscoring New Orleans by himself.
“Like I always tell people, you want to play your best ball around Thanksgiving and December,” said Bates, who punched a fumble loose from Taysom Hill for another red-zone turnover at the Falcons’ 9-yard line. “That’s when good teams start playing their best ball, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
The Saints had beaten the Falcons the past three times they’d played, and in the past five meetings in Atlanta, but Bates set the tone for the game with a huge takeaway. New Orleans was poised to add to a 3-0 lead, but Bates recognized the play and made a leaping interception off quarterback Derek Carr, racing 92 yards for his fourth career touchdown, and his longest.
“Jessie Bates, what he did today, that pick-six, that’s huge,” teammate Calais Campbell said. “It helps build that belief. And the forced fumble when they’re running the ball pretty well. Those are big-time plays. I told the guys before the game: Big-time players make big-time plays in…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/jessie-bates-92-yard-pick-six-keys-falcons-in-24-15-win-over-saints
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Publish date : 2023-11-26 23:37:25
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