The Patriots may catch another injury break in Atlanta.
Cordarrelle Patterson, who has scored seven touchdowns for the Falcons this season, “doesn’t sound optimistic” that he’ll be ready for Thursday Night Football, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. “Could be a couple weeks for one of this season’s most electric players,” he tweeted. Patterson left Sunday’s blowout loss to the Cowboys with an ankle injury.
The Patterson news comes on the heels of a date with the Browns that saw Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt sidelined, while Derrick Henry will also miss Tennessee’s game in Foxborough later this month.
Not having Patterson would be a serious blow for the Falcons, and on a Monday morning conference call, Bill Belichick spoke glowingly about the former Patriots wide receiver.
“CP is capable of really, with the ball in his hands, pretty much anything on the field,” Belichick said. “He’s a tremendous player. We certainly saw that when we were here. He’s dynamic. He can break the game open on kick returns, catching the ball, and running the ball or a combination of both. He did that for us. He’s done that for every team he’s been with in the league. He’s tough. He’s a very competitive player, and he’s got a very good and explosive skill set. He’s a problem.
“When you talk about Atlanta, it’s Patterson and (Kyle) Pitts in whatever order you want to put them in. They both touch the ball a lot. Really, Patterson touches it more than Pitts does, but they’re both really good, and, when they get it, they’re a big problem. CP is having a tremendous year. No play he makes really surprises me. I’ve seen him make those before. He runs by guys on go-routes. He takes short runs or passes and explosively breaks tackles or busts through a hole and chews up 25, 30 or more yards in a hurry. He’s got excellent hands, big hands. He’s a big guy. Hard to overthrow or hard for the quarterback to miss him, and (Matt) Ryan doesn’t miss many anyway. He’s an excellent target with good hands and a strong, powerful man that’s very hard to tackle.”
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