The Atlanta Falcons continued their trek toward torturous mediocrity in Week 15, playing spoiler and upsetting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football.
At 5-9, Atlanta has already been eliminated from playoff contention and lost its young quarterback to injury. The home stretch is about gathering information, particularly about head coach Raheem Morris amid a second underwhelming season. Thus, operating as close to possible to full health is important in otherwise meaningless games.
Raheem Morris Provides Drake London Update
The best version of the Falcons’ offense has star wide receiver Drake London on the boundary. That hasn’t been the case since Nov. 16, when London posted over 100 yards in an overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers. Morris gave an update on his star receiver on Monday.
“Obviously got to get to the practice week,” Morris said, via Josh Kendall. “I’m very hopeful he can go out there and play for us.”
London went down with a PCL sprain in his left knee in Week 11. Atlanta has gone 2-2 in his absence, but showed out offensively against the Buccaneers, largely thanks to tight end Kyle Pitts.
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Appearing in nine games this year, London has generated 60 catches for 810 yards and six scores. While he’s no longer threatening the top of receiving leaderboards, his under-the-hood marks are encouraging. By PFSN’s Wide Receiver Impact metric, London ranks sixth among 100 qualifiers and carries a B grade.
If London does return in time for Week 16, he’ll have a handful of vulnerable defenses to take advantage of. The Falcons play the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and New Orleans Saints to close out the season. With Los Angeles owning Atlanta’s first-round pick, there’s little incentive to “tank,” so keeping London off the field would only come as a matter of extreme caution.
Such a fate doesn’t seem inevitable, although it’s worth noting that London has been a frequent name on the injury report this season. In Week 1, he suffered a shoulder injury, and in Week 8, he was held out against the Miami Dolphins. The Falcons fell to Miami, 34-10, and quarterback Kirk Cousins failed to reach 200 passing yards.
With three games to play, London still has a chance to crack 1,000 yards for the second consecutive row. Of course, returning against a beatable Cardinals defense would help his case.
As Atlanta wraps up its season, getting London back could have an outsized impact on the coaching staff’s future. While Morris was careful not to make any guarantees, his optimism is a good sign for London’s potential return.
