Getty Ito Smith #25 of the Atlanta Falcons attempts to break a tackle by Byron Jones #31 of the Dallas Cowboys.
The Falcons will be without to key defenders again today vs. the Cowboys, as Kendall Sheffield nurses a foot injury and Marlon Davidson is still getting over a knee strain.
Other players who won’t see the field are RB Qadree Ollison; T John Wetzel, and DE Charles Harris.
The good news is left tackle Jake Matthews, who was questionable, will play today.
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Dallas Without Star Left Tackle
Some more good news in Atlanta’s favor is that Dallas won’t have their All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith playing. Smith is a vital part of the Cowboy’s offense and considered to be one of the best offensive linemen in the league.
The last time Smith was out against Atlanta, Dak Prescott was sacked eight times. This is about to be another Washington vs. Eagles game.
Here’s a look at the rest of the Cowboys’ inactives for today.
The @dallascowboys inactives today vs. @AtlantaFalcons:
Jones Set to Break Another Roddy White’s Record
Last week, Julio Jones become the second-fastest to reach 800 receptions in 127 games. Antonio Brown did it in 126.
Now, Jones enters Sunday’s game with 806 career receptions. The Atlanta franchise record for career receptions is 808 which is set by Roddy White during his 11 seasons with the Falcons. White is also another Bama (UAB) standout.
White served as a mentor during Jones’ first five seasons and Jones owes a lot of his success to him.
“Roddy kind of taught me the game early in my career,” Jones told AL.com, “and being able to put up numbers the way he put up numbers and having the ability to surpass him and things like that, it’s nothing but love on both ends. Just the way we play the game. And like I said, just being mentioned in the same sentence as Roddy White, what he stands for the Atlanta Falcons, what he did here for his 11 years.”
Julio will be covered by rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs who has yet to see big-league speed.
Falcons vs. Cowboys Matchup
Both teams are going into Week 2 0-1. Atlanta has the weapons to beat the Cowboys, but it’ll be interesting to see if they come in with the energy that they lacked last week. They were way too loose against Seattle. Now they have that “on the road” feeling and hopefully it has lit a spark inside them.
Atlanta fell 38-25 against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks last week. Who knew Wilson had such a strong passing game? He went 31 for 35 in completed passes. Dallas lost 20-17 against the Rams with their new head coach Mike McCarthy on the sidelines. The Cowboy’s defense suffered bad last week while Atlanta’s didn’t do any better.
This will be a big defensive game for sure. Dak Prescott’s primary target is Ezekiel Elliot meanwhile Matt Ryan has several options. Ryan threw for a league-high 450 yards last week and his targets Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Russell Gage each had over 100 yards.
I think the Falcons have what it takes to win this one on the road if they can put the missing puzzle pieces together and find that spark.
READ NEXT: Week 2: Atlanta Falcons vs. Dallas Cowboys Preview