Getty Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver, Julio Jones.
After not playing in Atlanta’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, Falcons’ No. 1 receiver Julio Jones returned to Week 6’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
It was clear his presence on the field was missed as he and Matt Ryan lit it up together to secure their first win of the season over Kirk Cousins.
In their 40-23 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium, Jones finished the game having eight catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns, including a 40-yarder pass from The Ice Man.
Jones Isn’t Washed Up Yet
Last Sunday marked Jones’ 57th game with 100 receiving yards, which ranks the most among current players in the league. He ranks fourth in NFL history next to Jerry Rice (76), Randy Moss (64) and Marvin Harrison (59).
Jones may be 31-years-old, but he is far from washed up.
“(There’s) nothing holding me back,” Jones told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m ready to go. More practice and more games to be all the way myself.”
Missing two games this season due to a hamstring injury, Jones has racked up a total of 23 catches, 350 yards, and two scores.
“At the end of the day, I felt great coming into this game,” Jones said. “No complaints. No hamstring injury issues. No tightness and things like that to prevent me from being who I want to be on game day.”
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No Time for Repetition
This week marked the second full week of practice under interim coach Raheem Morris and things are looking a little different than they would if Dan Quin were around. That’s because Morris found his own way of running things which includes no to repeating plays. Jones is a fan.
“It was small things, but they were huge,” Jones said. ” Being able to repeat a play. He was like, no you’ll get it later on. When you’re in a game you can’t repeat that play. You have to be perfect right then and there. There was no, we’ll get it next time, we’ll get it next time.”
Jones also said that Morris stressed scoring touchdowns. I guess they listened this time because the Falcons scored on 8 of 12 possessions.
“At the end of the day, we have to do to it,” Jones said. “We just have to believe in one another. Get put in the right situations and then we have to execute.”
Falcons Are on A Mission
With just one win and six weeks under their belts, Jones thinks the team can rebound into playoff mode.
“It can be done,” Jones said.
No team in NFL history has ever been able to rebound from an 0-5 start into playoffs, but the Falcons don’t care, they’re still going to try.
“It’s very important for us, we still have to do what we do,” Jones said. “We could have played better in this game. We just have to correct those mistakes that we (made) in this game. Ultimately, we got the win, but there is still room for improvement for us.”
The Falcons road ahead doesn’t get any easier with the Saints and Chiefs still on the schedule, but Morris is onto something here.