Atlanta Falcons DB Jessie Bates III Named NFC Defensive Player of Week

Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III added another tally to his impressive resume against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week against the Philadelphia Eagles. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons not only departed Lincoln Financial Field with a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, but also with an award-winning performance from safety Jessie Bates III.

Bates was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after posting 12 tackles, one tackle for loss, two passes defended and a game-sealing interception on the Eagles' final drive.

This marks the third time Bates has earned the award, with the other two coming in Week 1 and Week 12 last season.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris spoke highly of Bates after the win over Philadelphia.

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"You got to give Jessie a lot of credit," Morris said. "You got to give everybody a lot of credit. The Eagles are a great offense. They can move the ball in a bunch of different ways, various different ways, and Jessie going out there making those type of plays for us is very important."

Bates, who signed a four-year, $64.02 million contract with the Falcons in March 2023, is in his second year as a team captain. Last season, he collected 132 tackles and six interceptions en route to second-team All-Pro honors.

And his primetime performance Monday is just another chapter to the ever-growing book of Bates' impressive Falcons tenure.

"It’s the reason he’s here," Morris said. "It’s the reason our ownership went out there and put all the money into it, and to what we got going on, on defense and offense and everything else. And it’s really able to put us in position to go out there and win football games. And he’s just a big part of it."