Julio Jones earns NFL Spin Zone Player of the Week

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is on an absolutely torrid pace, and we can only hope that his hip injury doesn’t cause him to miss time. After manhandling Arizona Cardinals star cornerback Patrick Peterson in Week 13 to the tune of 10 receptions for 189 yards and a TD, Jones nearly carried the Falcons to an even more impressive upset victory against the Green Bay Packers, who are widely regarded as the best team in the NFL right now. It didn’t matter who the Packers put on Jones, as he had a career day with 11 receptions for 259 yards and a touchdown, and he was the biggest reason for the team’s near-comeback in the 43-37 loss last night.

It’s always remarkable when a wide receiver carries an offense, and that’s exactly what Jones did last week in the big win over the “No Fly Zone”. With the way he played last night, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see the Falcons pull it out if Jones never left with that hip injury. The Packers clearly had no answer for him, as Matt Ryan could have easily made it 20 targets for Jones; he’s simply been unstoppable over the past two weeks. I mean, he didn’t even need Roddy White to help him out against the Cardinals, and it’s never easy to face a top secondary by yourself; let alone dominate one.

Jones averaged a whopping 15.2 yards per target, and he nearly had a tough 31-yard touchdown to make it two TDs, but he couldn’t get two feet down in the end zone. Even with that missed opportunity, his stat line really jumps out, and the importance of his performance makes him a well-deserving Player of the Week. Anytime an elite receiver as a career day, you can almost guarantee that they will find themselves earning this honor. On deep throws, Jones caught five of the eight passes thrown at him for 163 yards and a touchdown, providing the playmaking ability that he has consistently delivered this year.

He caught passes against six different defensive backs, including a 79-yard catch on Tramon Williams, and the Packers two best CBs, Sam Shields and Casey Hayward, were absolutely powerless. Jones dominated Shields time after time, and you could argue that this was the most critical performance by any wide receiver in the 2014 season.

His value to the Falcons offense is priceless, and we saw that last season after he was shut down for the rest of the year. Speaking of “shut down”, Jones has been unstoppable all year long, as he is up to 93 receptions for 1,428 yards and six touchdowns, averaging nearly 110 yards per game with over 15 yards per reception. He’s the new league-leader in receiving yards, and the only issue is where he falls on the shortlist of the top five receivers in the NFL today.

Julio Jones set records last night, as his 259 receiving yards were the most in a game this season, the most in Falcons history, and the most allowed in Packers history. This was the best WR performance of the 2014 season, and the only thing missing was an upset victory for the playoff-hopeful Falcons, who look like the best team in the NFC South right now.

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