#james-pearce-jr

#james-pearce-jr

A few hours before that news conference, the Rams traded pick No. 26 to the Atlanta Falcons, who used it on James Pearce Jr. The outside linebacker has 8.5 sacks this season, which leads all rookies. He has recorded at least a half-sack in seven straight games, which is the second-longest streak by any rookie since 1982 when sacks became official, according to ESPN Research.

There's just nothing that says the Falcons should have won this game. That is, except for a remarkable game from Kirk Cousins, Bijan Robinson, and Kyle Pitts. I mean, a truly sensational performance that involved only the 20th game ever where a team gained 350+ passing yards, scored 3+ passing TDs, gained 100+ rushing yards, and racked up 5+ sacks as a team (the last instance was Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit in 2023).

The main story of the day was an eruption of emotion in the middle of 11-on-11 drills between the first team offense and second team defense. Rookie OLB James Pearce Jr. got into a little bit of a back and forth with C Ryan Neuzil before players on both offense and defense joined in the scuffle.