There's not much to say, Atlanta Falcons fans. That was a painful game to watch, and the season is quickly slipping away. While we always knew 2015 would have its rough spots, this sudden turn for the worse is disheartening. The Indianapolis Colts are a hard hitting team, yet the Falcons emerged relatively unscathed, with one notable exception.
The only noteworthy injury today was to starting running back Devonta Freeman. Freeman left the game in the first quarter after apparently suffering a concussion. Basically he lowered his shoulder and took a vicious hit, walking off the field but never returning to the game. The hit looked nasty and I wondered right away whether he was OK. When he didn't return to the game, there was some talk of it being a league protocol issue, similar to what happened with Blaine Gabbert a couple weeks ago. But he never did return.
I expect Freeman to be absent for at least the next couple of weeks. The NFL's new and improved concussion protocol has effectively lengthened the process for getting players back on the field. Freeman will need to pass a baseline test and get the approval of a third party neurologist before he can play again. It will give the Falcons a real chance to see what they have in Tevin Coleman. Coleman, while bigger and faster than Freeman, was noticeably less effective today. The team has to put Freeman's health first, but they're sure going to miss his presence.