Julio Jones is out Week 3, which is bad news for Dan Quinn and the Falcons

Dan Quinn needs a win to improve his job security with the Falcons, which is much more difficult without Julio Jones in Week 3. 

The Falcons and head coach Dan Quinn desperately need a win against the Bears to wash the bad taste of last week’s capitulation against the Cowboys out of their mouths. Unfortunately for Atlanta, they’ll take on Chicago without the services of All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones.

A “lingering hamstring injury” has officially caused the Falcons to rule Jones out ahead of their afternoon matchup against the Bears. His absence isn’t a complete surprise for the coaching staff, but it still makes the task of knocking off an undefeated Chicago team more difficult.

It would be an exaggeration to call the Week 3 contest a “must-win” for Quinn, but he’s running out of time to salvage his career with the Falcons. He entered the 2020 season under pressure to get Atlanta back into the playoffs. Tampa Bay’s offseason acquisition of Tom Brady made that task more difficult for Quinn before the season even began.

The team’s 0-2 start removes any margin for error that Atlanta has moving forward. It’s impossible to envision them turning things around without relying on Jones to power their aerial attack. He isn’t their only talented wide receiver, but his presence as a legitimate No. 1 option creates significant opportunities for his fellow pass catchers on a weekly basis.

The Falcons do have a shot to knock off the Bears even without Jones. To make that happen, Matt Ryan will need to get the ball to Calvin Ridley and Hayden Hurst early and often. Winning without Jones for a single week is improbable, but not impossible. Winning consistently without the talented wideout is a mountain that Atlanta cannot climb.

The bottom line here is that Quinn is running out of chances to turn his tenure in Atlanta around. Losing Jones for a week just makes it more likely that he’s going to be the first NFL head coach to be fired in 2020.