Falcons Lose Critical Defender to Injury Against Buccaneers

TAMPA – The Atlanta Falcons are currently tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at seven in the first half of their Week 15 matchup. That said, they may be forced to finish this game without one of their important defensive players. 

Cornerback Mike Hughes left Thursday night’s game with what was called an ankle injury after he came up limping after getting hit by a teammate during an attempted tackle. He went to the tent, but was quickly transitioned to the locker room for X-rays after a short evaluation on the sideline. The Falcons soon listed him as questionable to return. 

If he is unable to return, this would be a brutal injury for the Falcons, who are already without nickel cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. and leaning heavily on A.J. Terrell Jr. against one of the NFL’s top wide receiver units. 

Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich identified it as one of the team’s biggest challenges this season, saying, “The receiver core [is] a very unique situation because obviously they have a ton of talent from a receiver standpoint. But because Mike [Evans] has not played a ton this year, and he's been out from time to time, [Emeka Egbuka] has taken a lot of those roles. And he's been featured in ways that, in the past, they featured Mike Evans. 

“So now with the full contingency here with [Chris] Godwin, [Emeka Egbuka], Mike [Evans], Tez [Johnson], all of them, you're not quite certain how they're going to feature each particular receiver. We're really studying this from a conceptual standpoint, as opposed to a personnel standpoint. But it's maybe our greatest challenge to date.”

Through this point in the second quarter, the Falcons have been hit hard by penalties against Tampa, with several of them coming against Terrell in the secondary. 

Cobee Bryant stepped in for the veteran at the outside cornerback position.

Hughes has had a solid season for the Falcons this year, recording 51 tackles, an interception, two tackles for loss, and seven passes defended. In coverage, Hughes has allowed 40 catches (70 targets), 524 yards, and four touchdowns. He has missed a 

The Falcons currently sit at 4-9 on the season, but will look to play spoiler against their division rivals on Thursday Night Football.