Atlanta Falcons RB Steven Jackson to miss more time than expected
By Jason Marcum
One could argue the Atlanta Falcons are a few plays away from being 0-3 or even 3-0 for that matter. But at the moment, Atlanta sits at 1-2 with a huge game against the New England Patriots coming this week that will be featured on Sunday Night Football.
The lights will be shining bright on a Falcons team full of stars expected to contend for a Super Bowl title, but they’ll be without one of their biggest offensive starts, as running back Steven Jackson continues to battle a hamstring injury, and is expected to miss more time than originally expected:
"The Atlanta Falcons running back, who missed Sunday’s 27-23 loss to the Dolphins while nursing a hamstring injury, is still expected to be sidelined another two to three weeks, according to a league source. That means Jackson is set to miss Sunday night’s showdown with the Patriots.As it stands now, Jackson is expected to miss the Patriots this week and likely the Monday Night Football matchup with the Jets (Oct. 7, ESPN). The Falcons then have a bye week, allowing Jackson more time to rest before an important NFC South game against the Buccaneers (Oct. 20)."
Before Jackson went down, he had the second-longest consecutive games streak among running backs in the NFL (32 games). Ironically, the longest streak belonged to Ray Rice (43 games), and both streaks ended Sunday as they were both inactive.