ATLANTA — Bears rookie Velus Jones always thinks he’s the best player on any football field with the ball in his hands. And for a while in Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Falcons, he was.
But only for a while.
Not long after Jones reversed the Falcons’ first-series momentum with a 55-yard kickoff return that set up a Bears touchdown drive — a burst of redemption after being a health scratch the previous two games — Cordarrelle Patterson showed him how it’s done.
After the Bears had parlayed Jones’ return into 17 unanswered points to take a 17-7 lead on Justin Fields’ four-yard touchdown run with 4:31 left in the first half, Patterson took the ensuing kickoff in the end zone, accelerated through a seam in the Bears’ coverage, easily scooted through a Matt Adams a tackle attempt and shook off Elijah Hicks’ last-gasp dive at the 5-yard line for a 103-yard kickoff return.
It was Patterson’s ninth career kickoff return, breaking a tie with Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington for the NFL record.
“Man, he’s a great returner — most likely a future Hall of Famer,” said Jones, who talked to Patterson after the game and is hoping to eventually snare a game jersey from him. “Watching that guy, he’s dynamic. He’s a playmaker in any phase of the game. He can turn a game around, as you’ve seen. It was just a blessing to talk to him after the game. Hopefully [in the] offseason I’ll pick his brain. He can probably give me some knowledge in the return game. We’re both ballers. That’s god-given talent right there.”
It was Patterson’s third touchdown in 16 career kickoff returns against the Bears. He also had two for the Bears in 2019-20 before signing with the Falcons.
“First and foremost, I have to give it out to the 10 guys out there that were blocking for me,” Patterson said, “because it would be impossible to do it without those guys and they did a great job. There’s no way I would have seen that hole — anyone could have gotten to that hole.”
Patterson’s well-timed history-making touchdown reversed the fortunes of the Bears’ special-teams units. Prior to that, not only had Jones sparked the Bears with his kickoff return, but DeAndre Houston-Carson forced a fumble by punt returner Avery Williams in the first quarter, with Jack Sanborn recovering at the Falcons’ 41. Williams initially was ruled down prior to the fumble but the call was overturned up replay review — everything was going the Bears way at that point.
The Bears’ day turned around after Patterson’s kickoff touchdown. But Jones’ 55-yard kickoff return on his first touch after being benched for two games was a sign of hope that the struggling rookie could still emerge as a threat not only on special teams but eventually on offense.
“I have all the confidence in the world in myself,” Jones said. “I know who I am. I know I’m special with the ball in my hands. And that’s hasn’t changed for all the adversity I faced this season of being a healthy scratch. When your number’s called, make play. That’s it. That’s in the past. There’s nothing I can do about it. Just moving forward.”
And he still has big dreams, like someday catchup up to Cordarrelle Patterson.
“Little does he know I was 120-something yards from breaking his all-purpose [yardage] record at Tennessee,” Jones said. “I was second at Tennessee. He was first. But I definitely should have been beaten him. I should be sitting on that throne. But it’s all good. It’s better this way.”
That Patterson one-upped him yet again Sunday only inspired Jones.
“I’m really confident in myself,” he said. “I’ll be around for awhile. I’m going to go after his records in the league.”
