Falcons stay undefeated as Julio Jones torches depleted Cowboys

Eric Prisbell | USA TODAY Sports

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ARLINGTON, Texas — After Matt Ryan completed just three of eight passes to Julio Jones in the first half Sunday, the star wide receiver didn’t panic. He knew his offensive coordinator – the man he calls a “genius” – would make the necessary adjustments.

Kyle Shanahan moved the fifth-year pro around more in the second half, creating matchup advantages virtually every time the Atlanta Falcons snapped the ball.

“That allowed me to get open,” Jones said. “They didn’t have an answer for it.”

No one in the league appears to have an answer for Jones right now. He finished with 12 receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s convincing 39-28 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

He has surpassed 100 receiving yards in every game this season, all victories. And his 34 receptions are the most by any player in a season’s first three games in NFL history. A strong case could be made that Jones is the best wide receiver in football.

His performance Sunday, which included second-half touchdown receptions of 45 and two yards, helped change the tenor of the game, enabling the Falcons to unleash 25 unanswered points at AT&T Stadium.

“That No. 11 came out there in the second half and gave us fits,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “He certainly took it to us today.”

Especially in the second half. As Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said, “You see him outside, you see him inside. They throw a variety of throws to him – coming out of stacks, when he’s aligned as a slot, throw him quick screens, throw him over routes – you see him do a lot of different things. They use him well. He’s a damn good football player.”

Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne echoed his coach’s comments, explaining that the Falcons used Jones a lot on underneath routes in the second half to beat man coverage.

“You’ve got to know where he is at all times,” Claiborne said.

Added Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones: “That guy is one of the best. We knew going into the game that he was a legitimate threat … We just couldn’t stop them.”

Ryan believes he made the most important second-half adjustment: He was more accurate. He knew if he kept targeting Jones it would pay off, adding that Jones is going to “make great plays, even with some things that they kind of schemed for Julio. He is that good.”

Jones said that he and Ryan have such a chemistry in their fifth season playing with each other that they often communicate on the field with merely a glance or a brief hand signal.

Trailing 28-17 at halftime, Ryan told the team, “We’re going to win this game.” Jones loved the confidence shown by his quarterback. And Jones figured heavily into how the Falcons rallied from a two-touchdown second-quarter deficit.

“Matt has all the faith in the world in me,” Jones said. “I have the same in him. We are the leaders on the team. When my number is called, I have to step up and make plays. He will just keep being Matt Ryan, keep throwing great balls. You see the outcome.”

The Ryan-Jones tandem torched a Dallas team that was missing its own duo of quarterback Tony Romo (broken left collarbone) and wide receiver Dez Bryant (broken right foot), both of whom are expected to be sidelined several more weeks. After the game, Jerry Jones couldn’t resist commenting on the obvious comparison of two of the game’s great receivers.

“It’s a compliment to both of them to be compared with each other,” Jones said. “It’s a compliment to Dez. I give Dez all his due as well. But this guy (Julio Jones) … I’ve seen him in three games now, and he was the difference in all three of them.”

With Julio Jones off to a sensational start this season, the receiver was asked what his statistics mean to him.

Jones offered one word: “Nothing.”

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Follow Eric Prisbell on Twitter @EricPrisbell

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