Atlanta Falcons: 3 Players that must shine vs. Eagles in Week 2
1. Julio Jones
One final player that will really need to have a big performance and step up and shine for Atlanta in the second week of the regular season and during its home opener on Sunday Night Football against Philadelphia is star wide receiver Julio Jones.
In the Week 1 defeat to Minnesota last Sunday in Minneapolis, Jones was held in check by Vikings Pro Bowl cornerback Xavier Rhodes and the tough Vikings defensive unit.
In the loss to the Vikings, Jones managed to finish the game with just 31 total receiving yards on six catches, while being targeted a game-high 11 times in the contest. He did manage to haul in one touchdown pass off the hands of Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter, but the game was well out of reach by that point.
According to the Falcons’ team website, Jones wasn’t thrilled with his performance during the loss in the regular season opener against Minnesota, saying he believes he can have a bounce back week this Sunday against the Eagles:
"“I didn’t play really well in the game at all,” Jones said, according to the team’s website. “I was coming into the game limited but it’s football, things happen. I was ready to go. My wind is there just being out there playing. I’ll be way better this week than I was last week for sure.”"
Jones, one of the top and more explosive wide receivers in the NFL, has the capability to turn things on and take over a game with Ryan’s willingness to air out the ball at any point throughout a game.
A season ago, Jones finished with 113 catches and 170 total targets, tallying a league-best 1,677 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 14.8 yards per reception. While averaging a NFL-leading 104.8 yards per game, Jones also carried a catch percentage of 66.5 percent, which was his highest mark since the 2015 campaign.
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In what could potentially be another big game against an NFC opponent on Sunday Night Football in terms of the layout of the conference and league standings, Atlanta will need Jones to return to form and have a nice bounce-back performance in Week 2 to try and get back to the .500 mark on the season heading into the third week of the regular season.