The Atlanta Falcons did their best to give the Green Bay Packers a run for their money, but an early hole in the first half proved too deep to get out of no matter how many yards Julio Jones put up on the field. Make no mistake, Jones put up a lot of yards as he cemented his name in several franchise records in the process. However, the 259 yards came at a price as Jones suffered a hip injury that puts his status in doubt for Week 15 and beyond.
Jones suffered the injury in the fourth quarter after taking an awkward shot on a catch in the red zone. He next returned despite his efforts to get things lose on the sidelines. The Falcons shut him down for the remainder of the game and still managed to get off another scoring drive thanks to Harry Douglas, but it simply was not enough as they fell 43-37.
Now, all eyes are on the pending injury report as the Falcons await a clear diagnosis on Jones. Head coach Mike Smith told the media that the initial diagnosis was unclear and the team would know more in the coming days. Jones admitted the injury was very frustrating, recalling last season when he injured his foot against the New England Patriots which ended his season early.
"It was very tough," Jones said, via ESPN.com. "Last year, I missed the majority of the season with a broken foot. And that came back into my mind when I wasn't able to go back out there with my teammates and fight with them at the end of the game. I'll be OK. I just have to get treatment this week, and we'll go from there."
Jones' game was one of the best of his career. The receiver became the all-time leader in receiving yards for a season with 1,428 while several games still remain. Over the past two weeks, the wide receiver has put up 21 catches for 458 yards despite going up against some of the best cornerbacks in the league. However, much of that will go unnoticed if Jones is forced to sit out a significant amount of time with the injury.
The Falcons remain in first place in the NFC South despite the loss, but have two key division games left to finish their season. The team will get the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in Week 15 before heading on the road to face the New Orleans Saints and then finish with the Carolina Panthers in the Georgia Dome. The Saints fell to the Panthers in Week 14 which certainly helped Atlanta out. However, losing Jones for any one of those games will put pressure on the remaining offensive players to step up in his absence.
