Julio Jones hauled in a short pass behind the line of scrimmage, got the blocks he needed and did not stop running until he was well past the end zone.
The Philadelphia Eagles never had a chance.
In the blink of an eye, Jones on Sunday turned a fourth-down screen pass into a 54-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 10 seconds remaining.
Photo: Jason Getz-USA Today
The Atlanta Falcons then surrendered a huge play of their own on fourth down, but came up with the defensive stop they needed to preserve a wild 24-20 victory.
Jones’ speed on the winning play was stunning, reaching an estimated 32kph as he glided away from a futile swipe by Rodney McLeod and left Andrew Sendejo far behind.
“OK, it’s a footrace now,” Jones said. “That was it. It really wasn’t like I had to try hard or anything like that. I just had to stay on course.”
A sluggish game turned thrilling in the final minutes.
The Falcons (1-1) squandered a 17-6 lead against an injury plagued team that lost two of their top receivers, falling behind for the first time when Carson Wentz dived over from the one with 3:13 left and then connected on a two-point conversion pass to give the Eagles a 20-17 edge.
Philadelphia (1-1) had a chance at the end when Wentz converted on fourth-and-14, somehow getting off a pass with a rusher in his chest that Nelson Agholor hauled in between Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen for a 43-yard completion to the Falcons 18.
However, Neal and Isaiah Oliver dragged down Zach Ertz less than a yard short of the marker on another fourth-down play inside the 10 to preserve a much-needed victory for Atlanta after a dismal performance in the season opener at Minnesota.
However, it was Jones who really bailed out the Falcons — and became the franchise’s career leader in receiving yards with his winning score, passing Roddy White.
“He’s had a lot of great ones, that’s for sure,” said quarterback Matt Ryan, who helped keep Philadelphia in the game with three interceptions. “It’s special for him to break a record that way, in such a critical situation, in such a clutch moment. That’s pretty cool.”
On fourth-and-three at the 46, Jones dropped behind the line to haul in Ryan’s short pass and got just enough of a pick from fellow receiver Mohamed Sanu to take out cornerback Rasul Douglas.
Jake Matthews squashed another defender with a crunching block out on the edge.
Just like that, Jones was gone.
“A big little play,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn called it.
Jones crossed over the goal-line and kept right on going, disappearing down the tunnel. He finished with five catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns, also hauling in a four-yard score that gave the Falcons their 11-point lead early in the third quarter.
The Eagles were hampered by injuries that took out receivers DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery.
“It was tough,” Wentz said. “Some of the stuff tonight you can’t make up. I’ve never seen guy after guy like that early in the ballgame, but guys stepped up. Guys were resilient.”
Wentz finished 25 of 43 for 231 yards with two interceptions.
Elsewhere on Sunday, the Bears edged the Broncos 16-14, the Rams spanked the Saints 27-9, the Patriots destroyed the Dolphins 43-0, the Chiefs crushed the Raiders 28-10, the Colts defeated the Titans 19-17 and the Cowboys routed the Redskins 31-21.
The Seahawks sunk the Steelers 28-26, the Ravens beat the Cardinals 23-17, the Texans edged the Jaguars 13-12, the Bills battered the Giants 28-14, the 49ers outfought the Bengals 41-17, the Packers defeated the Vikings 21-16 and the Lions outlasted the Chargers 13-10.
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