Getty Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons catches a pass against the Carolina Panthers.
The Atlanta Falcons finally clinched their second win of the season on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers.
Atlanta headed into Prime Time in Charlotte with a 1-6 record after losing three games in the fourth quarter. The Falcons had another lead in the fourth and somehow held it this time. The Panthers’ offense was moving the chains until Falcons’ cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson intercepted Teddy Bridgewater at the Falcons 9-yard line with just under a minute left to play. Atlanta ran the clock and secure the 25-17 win.
Prior to Thursday, the Falcons had lost 23-16 to the Panthers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Julio Jones was sidelined due to a hamstring injury. His absence was missed.
Julio Jones Nearly Catches Jerry Rice
On Thursday, Jones caught seven passes for 137 yards. This marked Jones’ 58th NFL regular-season game with 100 receiving yards. It was his fifth against the Panthers and his fifth in nine Thursday night appearances.
After recording 125 receiving yards for the 35th time on Thursday, Jones is now tied with Randy Moss for the second-most 125-plus games in NFL history. These are the only two players with more is Jerry Rice with 49.
Jone’s career total is now at 12,709 receiving yards. There’s only one other player has had more receiving yards than Jones in his first 10 NFL seasons as the Alabama product surpassed Torry Holt’s 10-year total of 12,660 yards on a Thursday night.
Jones now has eight games left in his 10th season to hit the 467 yards needed to overtake Rice, who had 13,275 receiving yards in his first 10 NFL seasons.
Jones Considers Himself The Best in The League
At the end of the game, Jones joined NFL Network and was asked regardless of the Falcons’ record if he considers him the best wide receiver out there.
“Absolutely I think I’m the best… you’ll see, just keep watching,” Jones said of himself.
“Absolutely I think I’m the best… you’ll see, just keep watching.” 👀
@juliojones_11 joined our postgame show after the @atlantafalcons big #TNF win!
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Jones also confronted the trade rumors swirling around him saying he wanted to stay in Atlanta no matter what.
Jones Is A ‘Forever Falcon’
Julio was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. Trading Julio Jones wouldn’t be possible, at least this year.
Over his nine seasons, there have been some ups and downs with Jones and the Falcons franchise, it would be a huge loss for them. Jones is a staple to the Falcons’ franchise and to the Atlanta fans.
Plus, the 7x Pro Bowler is expensive and the Falcons would have to fork up $31 million which they can’t afford to do right.
It’s good for Atlanta. The 31-year-old isn’t washed up yet. He ended last fall with career highs, breaking memorable records. For starters, Jones took over Jerry Rice’s record in receiving yards having 12,000 in less than 17 games this season. He reeled in 99 catches for 1,394 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season and has been providing exciting touchdowns each week.
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