WATCH Atlanta Falcons' James Pearce Jr, Jalon Walker Record First Career Sacks

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Atlanta Falcons invested heavily in their pass rush over the offseason after struggling to sack opposing quarterbacks for the better part of 25 years. They added veteran Leonard Floyd, but drafted a pair of edge rushers in the NFL Draft.

Under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football, their rookie pass rushers recorded their first career NFL sack.

The Falcons Podcast: Spotify | Apple Pods | WATCH

Officially goes down as a half sack for James Pearce Jr. and Brandon Dorlus.

Technically BOTH of their first sacks of their career. pic.twitter.com/WSnKtwXAcq
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) September 15, 2025

The 26th overall pick combined with Brandon Dorlus to sack Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy on the team’s second possession of the game, forcing a punt.

On their third defensive possession, the other rookie pass rusher got involved in the game. Jalon Walker exploded off the line of scrimmage and sucked up McCarthy.

Jalon Walker breaks through! @AtlantaFalcons

ATLvsMIN on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/brTT6bmtk1
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2025

His sack killed the Viking drive and forced them to settle for a field goal.

The Falcons finished near the bottom of the NFL in quarterback pressure rates and were 31st in sacks last season. Last week against Tampa Bay, they flashed some of their potential. The Falcons combined to generate a top-10 pressure rate (40.5%) against the Buccaneers, and Pearce tied Abdul Carer to lead all rookies with four pressures.

While the Falcons got to Baker Mayfield once, the pressure largely did not convert into sacks. That changed in Week 2 with this sack.

Pearce was a camp standout for the Falcons after bringing a noticeable edge to Flowery Branch. Aside from quarterback Michael Penix Jr, no other player got more attention this summer than the rookie pass rusher.

“Any of these guys that have rushed the passer, they've got a little bit of edge,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said this summer. “Part of our whole draft, part of our whole philosophy, part of our practice, part of us becoming a team that we want to be, and going out and actually doing some of these things is acquiring players with some natural edge.”

Pearce collected 71 total tackles (44 solo), 19.5 sacks, 30 tackles for loss, and 3 forced fumbles over three seasons with the Tennessee Volunteers. Walker, a Butkus Award winner at Georgia, struggled with injuries throughout training camp, but flashed exactly why the team took him at No. 15.

The Falcons will be hoping this is the first of many for both of these rookies.