Julio Jones will be able to play for the Atlanta Falcons while Steven Jackson will not for their NFC South showdown with the Carolina Panthers on the week 17 NFL schedule.
Given the choice, the Falcons would definitely go with this outcome if they could only have one player available for a winner-takes-the-division game against the Panthers on Sunday.
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To be fair to running back Steven Jackson, he has generally been a pleasant surprise this season. It’s not as if he’s ever really a threat to break off a big run, but he has been steady and has shown a nice nose for the end zone (six touchdowns).
That said, Jackson is averaging fewer than four yards per carry. In the meantime you have Julio Jones, who has been darn near transcendent at times at the wide receiver position over the second half of the season. If you’re playing one game with a division title on the line, you would rather have Jones available than Jackson.
That is the situation for the Falcons, according to Albert Breer:
Jones has 1,535 yards this season on 100 catches. When he’s right he is dominant, so even if the Falcons get 75 percent of Jones, it will go a long way towards a division title and a home playoff game.
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