Julio Jones responds to final TD attempt - 'I can make those plays'
It was all right there for the Falcons.
Season on the line, two yards away from a go-ahead touchdown.
Everyone — especially the Philadelphia defense — knew Atlanta would go to its lethal combination of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.
A touchdown, and the Falcons would have taken the lead with a little more than a minute remaining. Atlanta’s defense would only have to prevent Nick Foles from leading Philadelphia into field goal range, and the Falcons would return to the NFC Championship game.
Or not.
As Jones tried to cut toward the corner of the end zone, he lost his footing. He eventually got back to his feet but couldn’t separate from the defender.
Ryan threw to his favorite receiver, but the ball sailed through Jones’ hands, and the season was over.
“It was just a sprintout, a rollout to me,” Jones said of the final play. “Trying to take advantage of one-on-one [coverage] down there.”
Was he expecting a penalty against Eagles defender Jalen Miles?
“I don’t know, but at the end of the day, I can make those plays. I ended up on the ground when I came out of my route. And that’s a tough call [for the official] to make during that situation in the game. That was it.”
Jones is one of the top receivers in the entire league, and even the best don’t come through every time.
But there’s nobody Ryan would rather throw to.
“That’s the life you live as a competitor — when you get in those situations, you want the ball in your hand.” Ryan said, “I think it was a right call. I think we had the right players in mind at the right time — and we just fell a little bit short.”
But a closer look at the statistics shows that when Ryan tried to hook up with Jones in the end zone this season, it hardly ever worked.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the duo connected on just 1 out of 18 end zone throws this season.
Still, offensive coordinator Steve Sarkasian called the play, and head coach Dan Quinn was confident.
“Damn right. Absolutely,” Quinn said. “We’re giving our shots to Matt and Julio to go for it and win the game. We didn’t get the job done, but 100 out of 100 we’re gonna put the ball in those two guys’ hands to try to win.”
Between last year’s Super Bowl and Sunday’s loss, it sure seems like the Falcons may want to stay away from those goal-line situations.
It’s going to be a long offseason — again — in Atlanta.
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