Watts and Bowman Standout Rookies in Falcons Losing Effort

The Buccaneers faced a 3rd-and-7 from their own 25-yard line, late in the second quarter. With less than 30 seconds to go in the first half, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich dialed up a blitz. Bowman found an open hole between the right guard and right tackle and zipped through. He wrapped up Mayfield’s legs and got credit for the sack.

For Bowman, it was no surprise to him when head coach Raheem Morris named him as a Week 1 starter.

“Yeah, I did to be honest," Bowman said when asked if he expected to start. "I can really go back and say I really, you know, gave it my all, since I've started playing this game. That's where it's put me in this position as I am today. So with that hard work, and the Lord Christ, I wouldn't be here. So, yeah, I do."

Bowman finished the game with six total tackles (three solo, three assisted), a sack and a quarterback hit. A great game, especially for a rookie seeing his first NFL action.

Meanwhile, Watts finished the game with six tackles (6 solo) and two passes defended. Both passes that Watts forced incomplete were nearly picked off. Watts was also a fingertip away from breaking up Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield's first touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.

The Falcons drafted safety Xavier Watts 96th overall, out of Notre Dame, in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft. Watts was seen as a ballhawk coming out of college, and he made plenty of plays for Atlanta in the secondary on Sunday.

Atlanta drafted defensive back Billy Bowman Jr out of Oklahoma, 118th overall in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft. General manager Terry Fontonet had high praise for the defender claiming that if you don’t like watching him (Bowman) play football, then you just don’t like football. 

Atlanta’s secondary played well on Sunday, with the lone weak spot being cornerback Mike Hughes. Hughes was the main defender in both of Egbuka’s touchdown grabs, including his go-ahead score with 64 seconds left in the game.

The Falcons lost, but there were still positives to take away from the game, and the thing to remember is that these rookies should only get better as the season goes on.

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