Grant, who was taken in the second round (40th overall) of the 2021 draft, played mostly on special teams as a rookie as he was mentored by Duron Harmon. He started all 17 games in 2022. Last season, he started 15 of 17 games before losing his spot to DeMarcco Hellams late in the season.

The Falcons were pleased with Grant’s play against the Bucs.

“Played pretty good,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “Played decent. Went out there, had a couple opportunities. Tackled really well. Made some plays in space.”

Grant was working with the first-team defense for most of the offseason. He was demoted after the Falcons signed Simmons in free agency in August.

“You know, obviously, Richie’s first time out there full-time (this season),” Morris said. “That was a nice showing for him and a really good and productive day for him out there.”

The defense gave up 17 points in the first half, but buckled down in the second half against the Bucs.

“Really, just playing our ball and honing in on the details,” said Grant, who played at Central Florida. “We knew what we can do. We watch a lot of film. It’s all about those details. If you can control how you are playing defense, the rest will take care of itself.”

The Falcons did make some halftime adjustments.

“We knew they always come out hot,” Grant said. “They always come out hot. It was about slowing that down. We didn’t get the job done in the first half. At the end of the day, we had a great team win.”

Dee Alford update

Falcons nickel back Dee Alford had five tackles in the win over the Bucs. He’s fourth on the team with 43 tackles and has a sack on a slot-corner blitz.

“He’s been playing well,” Morris said. “(Sunday vs. the Bucs) was not his best game with some of the communication things, but he’s been playing well for the most part.”

Alford will play a key role against the Cowboys, who are third in the league in passing at 256 yards per game.

“Look forward to (Alford) having a bounce-back week this week and really get out there and show some better things for us this week,” Morris said.

Terrell’s big hit

The sidelines went crazy when cornerback A.J. Terrell laid a big hit on Bucs running back Bucky Irving. He later had an interception of Baker Mayfield, his second of the season.

“He’s doing a nice job,” Morris said. “He’s got two picks this year. He’s done a nice job of being able to go match up with some of these elite wideouts in his league. He’s done a nice job of holding on his side, communicating, really playing at a high level. He’s exactly what we hoped for when we gave him that big contract.”

Injury updates

Morris is hopeful that he will get linebacker Troy Andersen back this week from a left knee injury. Andersen returned to practice last week, but has missed the past four games.

“Andersen is going to be probably day-to-day as we talk about it this week,” Morris said. “Obviously, he went out there last week and was practicing for us a little bit, so we’ll see where he is this week.”

Rookie defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro left the game against the Bucs with an ankle injury. He was seen in a boot after the game.

“(We’ll) see what happens after (Tuesday’s) big meeting,” Morris said.

Center Drew Dalman (ankle) is close to returning from injured reserve.

“Dalman is definitely progressing back towards health,” Morris said. “So, I really feel good about him. Had a couple good workouts with him, with the trainer and things of that nature, so we’ll see where that goes.”