You know how sometimes a game just stops being about football? That’s what happened in the third quarter of Sunday’s Falcons-Bears matchup, man. Falcons linebacker Kendal Daniels went down HARD after a tackle attempt, and it was just a truly scary scene on the field.
The Ugly Scene on the Field
This wasn’t just some regular bump and bruise. Daniels stayed down after his facemask connected with Colston Loveland’s knee on a tackle. Immediately, players from both sides surrounded him, which tells you everything you need to know about how serious this looked. The trainers were out there for several minutes, getting him stabilized. Medical personnel even had to cut his jersey off to immobilize his neck, which is a wild detail that just hammers home the gravity of the situation.
The good news, if you can call it that in this kind of moment, is that reports from Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted Daniels “appeared to be conscious and moving a hand” as they loaded him onto a gurney and carted him off. You just pray for the best when you see something like that, seriously.
A Massive Hit to Atlanta’s Defense
This isn’t just about losing a player, this is a huge blow to the Falcons’ defense, especially their play-calling. Daniels, a fourth-round pick this year out of Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, was the one wearing the green dot helmet, calling the defensive plays. And get this: he was the second linebacker with that responsibility to leave the game for Atlanta! Divine Deablo had already gone out earlier in the contest with an arm injury. Talk about a nightmare scenario for your defensive communication, right?
Daniels had been putting in solid work too, coming into Sunday’s game with 22 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass defended. For a rookie, those are some serious contributions, and now he’s out. Losing your primary and backup defensive play-callers in one game? That’s brutal, absolutely brutal.
Here’s hoping for the best possible news for Kendal Daniels after such a terrifying moment. That’s all that matters right now.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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