Atlanta Falcons 50: Julio Jones Top 5 Performances – #3
Today, we continue our Falcons 50 countdown with our mini-series written by staff writer Eric Robinson. Yesterday, Eric gave us No. 4. Today, we move onto Julio Jones’ third best game.
You can find the full list of “Falcons 50” posts here.
Non Atlanta Falcons fans will look at this as just a late season regular season win against the Cardinals. Most if not all Falcons fans recognize this differently as: The Patrick Peterson Game.
November 30, 2014 vs. Arizona Cardinals – 10 catches, 189 yards, 1 TD
Earlier in the week, CB Patrick Peterson took to the media stating that he was looking forward to going against Julio and Peterson claimed that he won “majority” of the battles between the two dating back to their days as SEC rivals.
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Instead of firing back via microphone or social media, Jones decided to let his play win the battle.
Let’s just say that Peterson poked a bear.
Jones voiced his opinion only to teammate Devin Hester and stated that he couldn’t sleep all week.
Jones and his quiet demeanor took the field and lit up the Cardinals’ secondary including Peterson with a then career-high of 189 yards and a score. Jones’ contribution was helpful as the Falcons racked up 500 total yards against the Cardinals.
Nov 30, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) is tackled by Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) after Jones made a catch in the first quarter of their game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Julio’s 32-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter put the Falcons up 17-0 in a game the Falcons needed to win to retain first place in the NFC South.
The significance of this game to be #3 on the countdown was simply based on the pregame trash talk that was thrown at Jones by Patrick Peterson.
The performance itself was superb, however Julio looked a little more aggressive this game. That aggressiveness could be contributed to a number of reasons.
One, the Falcons desperately needed the win even with a losing record as they stared at first place. Another reason was because of the personal rivalry between Jones and Peterson as stated before which dated back to their days at Alabama and LSU, respectively
One thing is for sure, if you call out Julio, bring it.