The Atlanta Falcons managed to maintain first place in the NFC South with a win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. The win pushed the Falcons closer to a playoff spot despite their losing record as they prepare to head on the road to face the Green Bay Packers. Every win is crucial for the Falcons right now and they need as many healthy bodies as possible to help out. According to head coach Mike Smith, Roddy White will be one of them.
White dealt with an ankle injury for much of last week which caused him to be a late scratch for the game against the Arizona Cardinals. The wide receiver was ruled inactive on Sunday morning despite being confident that he would play earlier in the week. The Falcons missed White on the field, but Julio Jones did his best to make up for the absence by putting up 10 catches for a career-high 189 yards and a touchdown. Jones dominated cornerback Patrick Peterson, but simply said that he was just focused on helping get the win.
"It's just the way I was brought up," Jones said, via AL.com. "Opportunity. I'm the type of person that if I get an opportunity, I try to take full advantage of it. You don't want to miss your blessings by talking crap to someone because you might need them later on in life. That's just how I was raised."
Matt Ryan certainly loved the big game by Jones, but is ready to get White back as well. Smith told the media that he fully expects White to be healthy for the Monday Night Football matchup which is a positive for Atlanta since they are facing the high-flying Green Bay Packers.
"He was close to playing," Smith said. "He worked with the athletic performance guys during the week. But we felt in was in his best interests long term to not play in the game this past week. We anticipate with the extra day he will be ready to go this week. Roddy is a guy that doesn't want to miss. It was tough on him when we made the decision to sit him down."
With White and Jones putting up a monster performance, the game of both Harry Douglas and Steven Jackson were overlooked. Douglas has been quiet after putting up over 1,000 yards last year, but he came up big against the Cardinals with nine catches for 116 yards. Jackson had a surprisingly good showing against the tough Cardinals defense with 101 yards on 18 carries. The Falcons will need repeat performances next week so any momentum is good momentum.
