AP

Julio Jones missed some practice time last week because of a calf injury, and then responded with an unusual one-catch night against the Saints.

But the Falcons wide receiver insisted those two facts weren’t related.

“I’m not injured or anything like that,” Jones said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

He was targeted seven times against the Saints, but only had one catch for 16 yards. But he said he was fine with that, because it meant other people were open as the Falcons rolled to a 45-32 win.

“That’s my job,” Jones said. “[Defensive] coordinators are going to try to take me away or they are going to put two guys on me or three guys depending on who we are playing. So, I’m doing my job. That’s all that I can do and we are winning.

“As long as we are winning football games and they are doing that, I’m happy with it and playing my role.”

That’s all well and good, but the Falcons are going to need Jones to be more than a decoy this week, as the level of competition increases dramatically with the Panthers and bringing an actual NFL defense with them.