How did former Falcons fare in Week 12?

In Week 12, former Falcons tight ends and defenders ruled the day. Here’s a closer look at how former fan favorites and “oh yeah I remember that guy” players alike did this past week.

QB Matt Ryan

This was not a great game for Ryan, despite another surprisingly effective scramble. Ryan threw an ugly interception in the early going as the Colts fell behind, and while he was able to rally them back into the game with a touchdown pass, it was one of his less efficient efforts over the past several games. In all, he threw for 199 yards on 34 attempts with a touchdown and a pick, plus 22 yards on four scrambles.

One of the big question marks for this Colts team, which is on a collision course with a top ten pick, is what they’ll actually do with Ryan next year. It’s not difficult to imagine they’ll have yet another quarterback at the top of the depth chart, which is head-spinning after it was thought Ryan would come in and stabilize the position for a year or two.

WR Julio Jones

Now that he’s healthy, Julio has become a significant contributor for a still-moribund Tampa Bay passing attack. He was fifth on the team in targets but third in receiving yardage, reeling in three catches for 40 yards, and has close to 150 yards and a pair of touchdowns over the last month. We’ll likely see him in Week 18 when the Falcons play the Buccaneers.

LB De’Vondre Campbell

Still out, but hoping to return at some point in this deeply lost Green Bay season. The Packers could use him.

S Duron Harmon

He played every snap for the Raiders in the win over the Seahawks, providing seven tackles and a pass deflection, and arguably his finest game of the season in coverage overall in a tough matchup against Geno Smith and company. Harmon is probably a stopgap starter at safety going forward in his career, as he has been the last two years for the Falcons and Raiders, but he’s a fine one.

WR Russell Gage

He’s still not playing. The Buccaneers would like to have him back soon and we may see him in Week 18, but Gage and Julio have yet to play together this year.

TE Hayden Hurst

He continues to be a favored target for Joe Burrow, matching the team lead with nine targets in a win over the Titans. Hurst turned those six targets into six catches for 57 yards and is a reliable short-to-intermediate option for the Cincinnati passing attack.

LB Foye Oluokun

In a big win over the Ravens, Oluokun had a season-high 18 combined tackles, including a pair of tackles for loss. Oluokun also chips in about a quarter of the team’s special teams snaps per week and has been a worthy signing for Jacksonville as a defensive leader and, as you’d expect, tackling machine.

DL John Cominsky

He didn’t have a sack this week, but in a great Thanksgiving game the Lions narrowly lost, he did manage to hit Josh Allen twice and chipped in a couple of tackles. Cominsky has been a really useful piece of the team’s defensive line rotation in Detroit and will likely stick around beyond this season.

RB Mike Davis

He did not play this week.

OLB Dante Fowler Jr.

A quieter week for Fowler, who has five sacks on the season but managed just one tackle on Sunday in a win over the Giants. Fowler will likely hang out with Dan Quinn in Dallas again in 2023, assuming DQ doesn’t get hired elsewhere as a head coach.

P Thomas Morstead

Six punts on the day for Morstead, who was busy as the Dolphins cruised to an easy win over the Texans.

LS Josh Harris

He long snaps like few others long snap.

DL Deadrin Senat

He played a handful of snaps on Sunday, but did not manage any tackles or big plays.

TE Austin Hooper

He continues to build a rapport with Ryan Tannehill, catching at least four passes in each of the past three weeks. This time out, it was four grabs for 30 yards in a loss to the Bengals, but Hooper

TE Eric Saubert

He played 20% of the offensive snaps and nearly 70% of the special teams snaps, but was not targeted on Sunday. The Broncos offense might actually be better if they just threw it to Saubert on every play than it actually is today.

LB/S Keanu Neal

Playing 80% of the defensive snaps, Neal had his most productive game of the season, hitting Jacoby Brissett twice and coming up with a half sack to go along with eight combined tackles. He’s a high-end reserve and spot starter at this stage of his career.