Falcons’ Cordarrelle Patterson units NFL mark for kickoff TDs

ATLANTA — Falcons kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson has at all times been vocal about his love for particular groups, about how returning kicks has made his NFL profession.

And on Sunday, Patterson set an NFL file, turning into the league’s all-time chief in kick returns for a landing.

He picked up his ninth return for a landing of his profession within the second quarter in opposition to the Chicago Bears — one other of his outdated groups — with a 103-yard return proper up the center of the Bears’ kick protection formation.

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Patterson had missed 4 video games earlier this season because of damage and had been labored again into the offense and to his kick return position, which he re-inherited from Avery Williams final week in opposition to the Carolina Panthers.

Patterson took this return from the ‘A’ in Atlanta’s finish zone, took it out of the tip zone and up the center of the sphere and received a key block from Troy Andersen as he ran by way of Chicago’s protection. He cut up between Bears kicker Cairo Santos and defensive again Elijah Hicks on the Falcons’ 45-yard line after which sprinted the remainder of the best way. Hicks nearly tackled him from behind on the Chicago 5-yard line, however his diving try simply missed Patterson.

It was Patterson’s first kick return for a landing since 2020, when he led the league in kick returns (35), return yardage (1,017), longest return (104 yards) and touchdowns (one).

When Patterson reached the tip zone, he was mobbed by his teammates as he broke a tie he had been in with Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington, who every had eight kick returns for touchdowns of their careers. It was the seventh season of Patterson’s profession the place he had a kick return for a landing, two greater than some other participant in NFL historical past. Earlier than the 2022 season and coming off a career-best offensive yr for him, Patterson was adamant that he remained on kick return as a result of he knew there was historical past available.

“I’ve received a file to interrupt, man,” Patterson mentioned in July. “I want another earlier than I can dangle it up being again there, man. If I get another, I am going to cease doing it.”

It isn’t clear if that can really be the case for Patterson, who led the NFL in kick return yards in 2019 and 2020 and 3 times led the league in common yards per kick return. Coming into Sunday, Patterson had 4 kick returns this season for 112 yards as opponents had not been letting him return as many kicks as he had up to now. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Patterson, who was taken within the first spherical of the 2013 draft by the Minnesota Vikings, has made the Professional Bowl 4 occasions and been a four-time first-team All-Professional as a returner.