The Atlanta Falcons came up as losers against the Detroit Lions on Friday night in their preseason opener. This loss came at an unfortunate cost as an injury scare forced the game to be called early out of respect for Lions safety Morice Norris.
Prior to the game being suspended, Detroit had just taken the lead late in the third quarter. The Falcons defense played well, while the offense struggled to do much. It wasn’t all bad for Atlanta’s offense, though. Here’s a look at how quarterbacks Easton Stick and Emory Jones fared on Friday night.
Player
Comp
Attempt
Yards
TD
INT
E. Stick
15
18
149
1
0
E. Jones
4
5
49
0
0
Total
19
23
185
1
0
Stick took a majority of the snaps against the Lions as the seventh-year quarterback from North Dakota State got the start. Emory Jones took over after halftime and played the remainder of the game, which was just the third quarter. Jones was efficient before the game was called, completing four of five passes for 49 yards.
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The running game was a major disappointment, though. In total, the team rushed for just 22 yards for the night. Check out the box score below.
Player
Carries
Yards
AVG
TD
N. Carter
3
12
4.0
0
E. Jones
2
9
4.5
0
J. Corbin
1
1
1.0
0
E. Dotson
5
0
0.0
0
Total
11
22
2.0
0
Elijah Dotson started the game off at running back but didn’t do much, ending the night with zero rushing yards. Nathan Carter ended the games as Atlanta’s leading rusher, however his efforts were cut short as his eight-yard run led to Morice Norris’ injury.
The quarterbacks made sure to spread the wealth around among the receivers. Five different players received multiple targets. The leader of the bunch was Dylan Drummond with 63 yards and eight receptions, both leading the team.
However, Chris Blair had the longest play of the night with a 29 yard reception. Blair would seal the drive with a 13-yard touchdown reception. Check out the wide receiver box score below.
Player
REC
Yards
AVG
TD
Targets
D. Drummond
8
63
7.9
0
8
C. Blair
3
54
18.0
1
4
N. Nash
3
35
11.7
0
3
D. Sills V
1
15
15.0
0
2
Q. Skinner Jr.
1
14
14.0
0
1
J. Simon
2
9
4.5
0
2
E. Dotson
1
8
8.0
0
1
J. Matthews
0
0
0.0
0
1
N. Carter
0
0
0.0
0
1
Total
19
198
10.4
1
23
As far as the defense, three Falcons players landed a sack – Arnold Ebiketie, Brandon Dorlus, and Khalid Kareem. Ebiketie also forced a fumble, along with Brandon Dorlus and Josh Woods. Woods also ended the contest as the team’s leading tackler with six tackles. Rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr ended the game with one tackle combined between the two and three QB hurries.
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This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons vs Lions: QB Easton Stick plays well in preseason opener