Patterson tortures Bears again with 103-yard kickoff return TD

As Cordarrelle Patterson set up inside his end zone for a kickoff return during the second quarter Sunday, he felt a surge of motivation. If the football was coming his way, there was zero chance he wasn’t bringing it out.

Just a few minutes earlier at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Patterson tried to make too much out of what started as a busted run. And at the end of an attention-grabbing 17-yard gain, he had the ball punched from his hands by Bears safety Jaquan Brisker and recovered by cornerback Jaylon Johnson.

“Trying to be too greedy,” Patterson said. “Trying to be that spark for the team, I was trying to do way too much. “

It was a costly Falcons turnover, one the Bears promptly cashed in on with a 29-yard touchdown drive for a 17-7 lead. Patterson was furious.

“That fumble was in my head the whole time,” he said. “I was a little hungry to make a play.”

Thus when he went back for the kickoff that followed Justin Fields’ 4-yard touchdown run, all rules were off.

If Bears kicker Cairo Santos were to boot the ball anywhere other than the stands, Patterson had plans for a big return.

He was asked how deep in the end zone that kick would have needed to be for him to see a red light.

“Twelve (yards),” he said with a smile. “They may have blown the whistle. But I was still going to bring it out.”

Imagine Patterson’s wide eyes then when Santos’ kick came tumbling out of the air toward the bottom part of the third “A” in the west end zone, 3 yards deep. “I was (surprised),” he said.

Off he went.

At the 10-yard line, Patterson swerved inside between the hashes. At the 20, he saw an opening and hit the gas. He knifed between four Bears coverage men into the open field, then split between Santos and rookie Elijah Hicks.

By the time Patterson tumbled across the goal line, he had a 103-yard kickoff return touchdown, the play that helped swing the momentum in the Falcons’ 27-24 victory over the Bears while also providing a record-setting moment.

It was the ninth kickoff return touchdown of Patterson’s career, moving him past Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington in the NFL record book.

The excitement of the score had Patterson exhilarated. The magnitude of the milestone, though, put a tear in his eye — until he was mobbed by more than a dozen teammates near the goal post.

“I was trying to shed a tear,” he said. “They wouldn’t let me.”

All week the Bears discussed how dangerous Patterson has always been. Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams called Patterson “an alien” as an offensive weapon, lauding his rare combination of speed, strength and versatility.

Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower noted Patterson’s aggressive mindset as a returner but vowed his coverage unit would be ready.

“Our guys get juiced up,” Hightower said Thursday. “I’m excited about the challenge.”

Still, it was borderline reckless the Bears gave Patterson his chance to deliver that record-setting return, particularly giving the direction the game seemed to be heading. Fields’ touchdown run following Patterson’s fumble gave the Bears a 10-point lead and a surge of energy.

But Santos, in an effort to launch a kickoff with good hang time, didn’t get his kick deep enough. Patterson’s ambition took over.

For the Bears coverage team, the play’s autopsy didn’t seem overly complicated.

“He just made a great play and ended up scoring,” Brisker said. “He changed the game.”

Added Byron Pringle, who was also in on kickoff coverage: “It was a great return. I don’t know. There was probably a great block inside there somewhere. But he’s one of the best to ever do it.”

On the Falcons sideline, cornerback Dee Alford watched with excitement and appreciation.

“CP is a legend, man,” he said. “For real. That guy comes in and works hard every single day. Nobody deserves that more than CP.”

Maybe it all felt like déjà vu for Bears fans. After all, more than half of Patterson’s kickoff return touchdowns over his 10 seasons have come in games featuring the Bears. As a Vikings rookie in 2013, Patterson returned the opening kickoff of a Week 2 game at Soldier Field 105 yards for a score. Five years later, as a Patriot, he went 95 yards against the Bears for another touchdown.

(Coincidentally, that score also came shortly after Patterson lost a fumble.)

In Patterson’s two seasons playing for the Bears, he also had a 102-yard score against the Saints in Week 6 of 2019 and a 104-yard touchdown against the Vikings in Week 10 the next season.

Patterson laughed Sunday when considering his Chicago ties.

“Oh, lord,” he said. “I’ve got history with those guys, huh? I just like playing the Bears I guess.”

For the Bears, the loss came with layers as usual.

After Fields’ touchdown run, the Bears were outscored 20-7. Their offense managed only 99 yards and one scoring drive after halftime and once again couldn’t put together a

game-tying or go-ahead drive late in the game.

The Bears’ final possession ended with Fields first injuring his left shoulder on a designed quarterback run, then throwing a fate-sealing interception on a thirddown wild pitch that caromed off running back David Montgomery’s hands and into the arms of Falcons safety Jaylinn Hawkins.

Across all three phases, there was ample blame to spread around. And with four consecutive losses and only one victory since September, the Bears will have to retain morale and motivation to attack the final six games.

Patterson’s explosive return provided another example of how

thin the Bears’ margin for error truly is.

More than that, though, it offered evidence of his excellence and the place in history he has earned.

Patterson smiled when he was reminded that Hicks closed in on him and actually tripped him up near the 5-yard line and almost kept him from breaking the record as he went spilling into the end zone.

“I was telling my guys on the sideline, ‘Who is this guy?’ “Patterson said. “I saw him. He was like 10 yards back and he caught up to me and I was like, ‘This little freaker is

fast, man.’ I’m glad he didn’t get me. The rest is history.”

Back in the summer, Patterson joked with folks around the Falcons facility that as soon as he had the NFL record for kickoff return touchdowns in his possession, his days as a returner would cease. On

Sunday afternoon, he promptly took that back.