Austin Hooper pulled off one of the crazier touchdowns you’ll see on any Sunday, as he went 88 yards for the Falcons and took some casualties along the way.
The Atlanta Falcons are looking to go on a big revenge tour in the 2017 regular season after what happened last season, and it looks like they’re off to a good start in their season opener against the Chicago Bears if they can replicate what Austin Hooper did to the defense on Sunday all year.
Matt Ryan has a ton of targets to work with on offense, between Devonta Freeman, Julio Jones and countless others, which made it that much more shocking when it was Hooper taking control on offense and dominating the Bears along the way.
Hooper took a pass from Ryan from the Falcons’ own 18 yard line, and rolled his way through the Bears defense, taking Quintin Demps as a victim along the way with an absolutely vicious stiff arm that probably caused an earthquake in Chicago.
HOOOOOOOOOOOPER TO THE CRIB.
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 10, 2017
ATL 20 | CHI 10#ATLvsCHI pic.twitter.com/SGcWpFCmfl
If this is a sign of what’s to come in the 2017 season, things are looking good for the Falcons offense, and it doesn’t look like we’re going to see the same type of meltdown from a Super Bowl appearance that the Falcons’ NFC South rival Carolina Panthers had last season after their Super Bowl 50 appearance.
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While it is the Bears, and they’re not expected to exactly be a threat in the NFC this season, the Falcons surely should be a dominant force considering the talent they have to work with. Between Ryan, Freeman, Jones, Hooper and a million other targets on offense, let alone some of the players they have to utilize on defense, the Falcons should remain a big piece of the NFC throughout the 2017 season at this rate.