FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Jessie Bates III felt like he had his worst game against the Minnesota Vikings in last week.
The Falcons' secondary gave up five touchdowns to the Vikings, the most it allowed all year along with 318 passing yards the second-most of the season. After reviewing the tape, the Falcons safety said there were a lot of fires he could have put out, and he takes the blame for that.
"Sometimes this game can humble you very fast," Bates said. "You can be the top of this stat list and you have one bad week, you can be in the middle of the pack, at the bottom of the pack, whatever it is. So, as a leader being able to reiterate, 'don't get bored with this stuff, because things change.'"
Bates said the high-powered Vikings' passing attack, which ranks seventh in the league with 238.2 yards per game, tested the Falcons' defensive backs. Falcons assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray likened the performance to Space Jam. The secondary was in position to make plays, but their powers were taken away.
Atlanta looks to bounce back against another prolific receiver in Bowers in Week 15. The first-year tight end leads all rookies in receiving yards (933) and receptions (87). He is No. 5 overall in yards amongst NFL receivers.
"He's one of a kind. He's doing a good job in the run game, blocking, and then he's doing a good job of playing receiver when he wants to play receiver," Bates said. "He's done a really good job of coming in and putting his mark on the league, and they've done a really good job of getting him the ball and opportunities to make big plays. You always got to know where he's at, and I'm excited to go against him for sure."
Amidst a nine-game losing streak, Bowers has been a bright spot for the Raiders. Bowers has recorded all four of his touchdowns in that span and surpassed 100 receiving yards twice. He had a career-high 140 yards in Week 13 — the third-most of any tight end in a single game this season.
Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake said Bowers is especially good at ball awareness and being able to track it through the air. The 6-foot-4 tight end is "a matchup nightmare."
"He's obviously gonna be bigger and stronger than most defensive backs, and he's going to be faster, more agile than most linebackers," Lake said. "He is a special talent."
The drop in the secondary production happened as the Falcons' pass rush came alive. In the past two games, the defensive front has recorded nine sacks. Prior to Week 13, they had just 10 sacks. Bates feels even more urgency to get the secondary back on track because his fellow defensive teammates are bringing the quarterback down.
"We should be excited, our D-line should be excited that they can go get more sacks, and we need more turnovers on defense," Bates said. "Being able to give the ball back to Kirk is something that we've talked about a lot in our defensive room. When we earn the right to go rush the pass, we earn the right to go get interceptions, too. So, just making that clear and just making sure our details and our communication is at the top of top-notch."
Part of that preparation involves not getting complacent with the mundane. Teams improve incrementally through routine moments like position meetings and walk-throughs, and it shows up on Sunday.
"Sometimes it takes a game like last week to smack you back on track and get you right where you want to be," Bates said. "In the meeting room just continue to communicate at the highest level and I think we'll see a better performance, no doubt."
At the same time, Gray said Bates should stick to what's made him a great player. If he helps too much on the field it takes away from what he needs to do. He only needs to do this job and focus on that.
"I can tell right away exactly what he's trying to do, and you can't do that at a high level and think you can do your job at a high level, too. I kind of joke about him say, 'They don't give you two checks, just do one job.'"
Now, that job is to handle Bowers and get a win against the Raiders.
