FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – The Falcons (1-3) will travel to Pittsburgh to face off against the Steelers (1-2-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Here are four key stats you should know about Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones as he enters his 100th NFL game in this Week 5 matchup:
1. 100: Through 99 games, Jones has recorded 9,556 receiving yards, including 41 games with 100-plus yards. Even before playing in Sunday's game, both records mark the most in each category through a player's first 100 games and the closest player to Jones is Lance Alworth (9,019 yards and 40 100-plus games). The eight-year veteran is averaging 125.5 yards per game and could really push his stats this weekend against the Steelers defense, 30th-ranked defense in the NFL, to make the record harder for anyone else to reach.
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2. AFC showstopper: In Week 4 against the Bengals, Jones recorded nine receptions for 173 yards, his second 100-yard game this season. Since entering the league in 2011, Jones has faced an AFC team in 26 occasions totaling 2,348 yards, marking the most yards against AFC teams among all NFC players in that span, including Calvin Johnson (2,010) and Dez Bryant (1,988). As he gets ready to face another AFC North opponent this week, the eight-year veteran has averaged 90.3 yards per game in the 26 other occasions and Falcons fans should expect him to do so.
3. Two is better than one: Last Sunday, Mohamed Sanu also registered a 100-yard receiving game (six receptions for 111 yards) like Jones. The last time the Falcons had two players record 100-plus receiving yards in a single game was Nov. 1, 2015, and that feat has only occurred in 18 times in franchise history. As the Atlanta receivers get ready to face off against the fourth-worst pass defense in the NFL, there is a high possibility of this occurring again, especially with Offensive Rookie of the Month winner, Calvin Ridley, in the mix.
4. History in the making: Through four weeks, the Alabama alum has registered 502 receiving yards and is averaging 125.5 yards per game, the most in the NFL. Jones is just 444 receiving yards away from reaching 10,000 career yards and at the pace he is going he should reach it in the next four games, becoming the fastest player in NFL history surpassing Calvin Johnson (115 games).
