Atlanta Falcons Jake Matthews sustained ankle injury

Atlanta Falcons rookie left tackle Jake Matthews is a crucial player for the Falcons, because he’s the team’s best offensive tackle, and it’s a position that the Falcons are perilously thin at. Matthews exited today’s incredible 37-34 victory over the rival New Orleans Saints in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Just to illustrate how lacking the Falcons are in the depth department at tackle, Matthews’s replacement was former Chicago Bears bust Gabe Carimi, who might be one of the worst tackles in the NFL. Carimi, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Consitution, allowed the only sack of the afternoon, as the Falcons largely kept Ryan upright against a vicious Saints defense, which looked powerless. Ryan was money all night long, as he racked up over 400 yards with 3 TDs and no INTs to go with some impressive running.

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Matthews was initially listed questionable to return, but he never came back into the game. His status is totally up-in-the-air at this moment in time, but losing the blue-chip rookie for any period of time would be tough. He qualifies as a knight in shining armor for Ryan, who played at a high level last season despite massive injuries around him to his star WR duo and to his already weak offensive line. If the Falcons want to get back to the playoffs, then they can’t afford to lose key players for significant chunks of time.

Falcons head coach Mike Smith is predictably being mum on the matter, but he did state that he will “probably” update reporters of Matthews’s status when practices open up on Wednesday. The Falcons, by the way, have another tough matchup on tap, as they will face the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday, and the Bengals are fresh off of a narrow win over another good division rival in the Baltimore Ravens.

Ledbetter reports that Matthews is likely dealing with a “mild” ankle sprain, but we’ll wait to see if he might miss any games.