Former Tennessee star James Pearce balled out on Sunday morning as the Atlanta Falcons faced the Indianapolis Colts in Germany as a part of the NFL's International Series.
Pearce recorded a sack and forced fumble against the Colts, giving the Falcons great field position with a lead and a chance to pull away. The Falcons offense wasn't able to get the job done, though, in a 25-31 loss.
James Pearce Jr forces the fumble
Jalon Walker recovers the fumble
Falcons rookies are BALLING 😤pic.twitter.com/SlPqP6JxOC
— PFF (@PFF) November 9, 2025
This type of play was something Tennessee fans had grown accustomed to seeing from Pearce over the previous two seasons. Pearce totaled 66 tackles and 17.5 sacks in his sophomore and junior seasons, becoming an unstoppable force on Tennessee's defense.
Pearce has made a couple of plays for the Falcons so far in his rookie season, but a strip sack leading to a Falcons recovery is the biggest play he has made so far in his career.
The 26th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft has been getting his feet wet throughout the first half of his rookie season, but this play shows he's close to finding his way onto the field a lot more often on the Falcons' defense.
Pearce is one player Falcons fans hope to see get more playing time in the final month and a half of the season. Our friends at Blogging Dirty believe Pearce should be receiving more playing time in the final stretch of the season.
We will see if Pearce gets additional playing time in the coming weeks after his key play in the second half. The Falcons don't have much to play for this season, as they fall to 3-6, but can use the final stretch to develop young guys like Pearce for the coming seasons.