Atlanta Falcons: Studs and duds vs. Colts in Week 3
Stud: Julio Jones
The first stud for Atlanta in the road loss to Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon was Falcons star wide receiver Julio Jones. Jones, who had his first breakout performance of the 2019 campaign a week ago against the Eagles on Sunday Night Football, returned to form once again on Sunday in Week 3 against the Colts.
Jones finished the game with a team-best total of 128 yards and one touchdown on eight catches and nine targets for Atlanta. Those 128 yards are a season-high for Jones through three weeks and it is the second straight week where he has been able to haul in more than 100 yards through the air.
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Perhaps one of the most encouraging thing when it comes to Jones through three games this year is that he has once again returned to getting touches in the redzone, something that was somewhat of an issue with him and the Falcons offense throughout the 2018 season.
Dud: Calvin Ridley
One dud in the loss on Sunday for Atlanta was the performance on the other side of the field to counter Jones with fellow wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Ridley, who has put together a nice season up to this point while serving as a very solid complementary wideout piece to go alongside Jones, struggled in Week 3 against the Colts and put together his most disappointing performance of the season to this point.
In a game where Atlanta receivers hauled in a total of 304 yards and three touchdowns, Ridley finished the contest with just six total yards on one catch and one target.
Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Matt Ryan were able to get by for the most part without Ridley in the game at Lucas Oil Stadium, but the Falcons will need Ridley to get back to the level of play he started the year out with moving forward the rest of the regular season.