Calais Campbell reaches 100th NFL career sack, while Falcons lose first home game of the season
Middle Georgia Native Bud Dupree leads the Falcons in sacks this season.
Atlanta, GEORGIA (41NBC/WMGT) –The Atlanta Falcons lost their first home game of the season, 24-16, to the Washington Commanders, falling to 3-3 on the season.
The loss also marked the first time quarterback Desmond Ridder had lost a home game in his entire collegiate and NFL career.
The Falcons had several opportunities to tie the game in the 4th quarter, but Ridder threw two interceptions in the final six minutes of regulation, and a total of three during the entire game. Head Coach Arthur Smith did say that procedural issues cost Atlanta toward the end, but he made sure to back his second-year quarterback.
“One thing Des was not going to do is panic. That’s not what it is. Like I said, it’s miscommunication. It happened. Unfortunately, we had a lot of opportunities. You know, Washington, they took advantage and turned it into their touchdowns,” said Smith.
The defense continued to play well, getting four sacks, with 1.5 of those coming from Middle Georgia native Bud Dupree. Even though the defense set up the Falcons with several opportunities at the end, he noted they could have done even better.
“We left a lot of plays on the table that we could have taken back for us today to prevent that type of game at the end. So, we’ve got to hold it on our shoulders and take accountability for that as well,” said Dupree.
Regardless of the loss, it was a momentous day for 16th-year defensive lineman Calais Campbell, who got his first sack of the season, marking the 100th in his NFL career.
“I love this game with all my heart. Every time I play it, I go out here and give it my all. To be able to just be a little in the history books, that 100-sack club is a cool thing. I’ve just been at it for a long time, so to be able to get it with 50 different quarterbacks too, that’s pretty surreal,” said Campbell.
“Great to have a guy like that around in the locker room. Especially to be able to play with a Hall of Famer-type guy, a legend. He’s a special kind of guy, and I appreciate everything they say to you,” said Dupree. “You can’t take anything a guy like that says for granted. You’ve got to take it in, think about it, realize it, analyze everything they’re saying because they don’t want to see anything but guys getting better.”
Dupree is just 1.5 sacks away from reaching the half-century mark in his 9th season in the NFL. He’ll look to get there as the Falcons travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers in a crucial NFC South battle this Sunday at 1 p.m.
