The Atlanta Falcons are currently living the Hoosier life. Yesterday afternoon, they officially kicked off joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts, and they're set to have their second joint session with the Colts later today ahead of their preseason matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
All things considered, it was a pretty successful practice for the Falcons. Not only did they thrived in both WR-CB and OL-DL 1-on-1s, they even made some highlight plays. To be honest, they had some real momentum in the session, which is a much-needed moral victory.
They won some of the earlier parts of practice, but the best part was seeing Divine Deablo return to practice for the first time since injuring his ankle/foot on Aug. 8. But otherwise, these were the biggest storylines from Atlanta's joint practice of the summer.
What are the biggest storylines from the Falcons' first joint practice with Colts?
Tua Tagovailoa and the Falcons' offense had a rough day
Tua Tagovailoa had a couple of nice throws to Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheus 1-on-1s, but struggled mightily in 11s. The Falcons' first drive saw him get sacked, Bijan Robinson get brought down for a loss, before he fumbled another snap on third down--but the second drive was worse.
The second drive had a nice highlight pay to Drake London (which we'll get to later), but drive ended at midfield after Atlanta could not convert a third-and-medium. And later on in 11s, he threw a pick-six to Colts DB Justin Walley, who jumped the out-breaker to Drake London and ran the pass back.
And according to the AJC's Daniel Flick, his struggles saw the entire offense struggle-outside of that one London play, that is. And it's a shame since he wasn't particularly sharp in his debut.
I’d give the Colts’ defense a solid edge over the Falcons’ offense today.
— Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) August 19, 2026
Aside from Drake London’s big play, been tough sledding for Atlanta. A few sacks/pressures and TFLs. Falcons have hit a few good runs.
DeMarcco Hellams with a nice forced fumble
With Jessie Bates and Xavier Watts back at practice, but not a full go, DeMarcco Hellams was once again a benefactor. He again took reps with the first-team defense, and took advantage, as he reportedly forced a fumble on Colts TE Mo Alie-Cox and the Dirty Birds were able to recover.
He was never really in jeopardy, but Hellams keeps making himself look more and more like a roster lock.
Drake London made the play of the day
I mentioned a Drake London highlight play earlier, and I would be remiss if I didn't spotlight it. At 6-foot-4 and almost 220 pounds, there is nothing this guy does like making smaller defenders look foolish, and that's just what he did early on during the team period.
London was drawing tight coverage from Walley, but he used his size to do his best Julio Jones impression. It may have been a 50-50 ball, but there was never any doubt who was coming down with this pass from Tagovailoa. Drake straight-up mossed him for the play of the day.
Okay, Drake! 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/zfVQQBsY6z
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 19, 2026
Za'Darius Smith did not practice on Wednesday
Atlanta only signed Za'Darius Smith on Tuesday, and since he hasn't played organized football since October, they're giving him an adjustment period. He was not present at practice on Wednesday, which seems fair since the 33-year-old has only had about 24 hours to get himself up off the couch.
Of course he's not ready to practice with the team. He's still acclimating to everything, so maybe we'll see him tomorrow, but it doesn't seem super likely. In other news, the team roster has revealed that he's expected to wear No. 91 this season.
Michael Penix Jr. dropped a dime in 1-on-1s
Even though he still has the same limitations, Michael Penix Jr. made sure to remind everyone that he can still sling it. During 1-on-1s, he threw a beautiful long ball to Dylan Drummond, who dusted Jaylon Jones. But at this point, we all know the arm talent was never the issue: staying healthy is.
The Falcons looked more energized
Following a preseason opener in which the Falcons looked discombobulated and frankly pretty terrible in the 27-7 loss to the Denver Broncos last Friday night, so the hope for these joint practices would be that this team looked a little more energized and cohesive entering Saturday afternoon.
And the good news here is that this was the case. They fared pretty well on offense in 1-on-1s and their defense did well against the Colts' offensive line. But more importantly, they reportedly brought the juice this team was clearly lacking earlier on this offseason.
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