NFL Roundtable: Patriots makes statement against reeling Falcons

It wasn’t a pretty sight in Atlanta Thursday, as the New England Patriots came to town and beat up on a Falcons team that looked listless offensively. That blowout tops this week’s edition of our NFL Notebook. 

Patriots Shut Out Falcons, 25-0

There are no two ways around it: This was ugly. The Patriots' defense picked off three Atlanta quarterbacks four times, including a fourth-quarter pick six from Kyle Van Noy that put the game away.

New England’s offense only got into the end zone one time, but four Nick Folk field goals were more than the Patriots needed. Now 7-4 this year (and an impressive 5-0 away from their home stadium), the Pats will get a few extra days off ahead of a big home game against the Tennessee Titans.

Big Ben, Kamara Uncertain for This Weekend

The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints are each dealing with injuries to key players. Ben Roethlisberger missed last Sunday’s abomination (the 16-all tie with Detroit that must never be spoken of again) due to a positive COVID-19 test, and he needs to be symptom-free for two days and provide consecutive negative tests in order to return to the field.

Meanwhile, Alvin Kamara didn’t play against Tennessee last weekend due to a knee injury, and he did not practice Thursday after a limited session on Wednesday.

Antonio Brown... My Head Hurts

We’ll finish with a puzzling story, and admittedly, very few details are out there right now. Here’s what we know: Tampa Bay wide receiver Antonio Brown was in the news Thursday. A former personal chef of his named Steven Ruiz says Brown’s girlfriend contacted him over the summer to receive a fake vaccination card, which said he received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Ruiz says he went public with these allegations because Brown failed to pay him $10,000 he was owed (this helps you recoup your losses how, exactly?). The Bucs say the entire team is vaccinated, and that no irregularities were observed among the cards they collected from their players. The NFL, meanwhile, says it’s looking into the matter.