The New England Patriots have been successful in slowing down their opponents best wide receiver in their two playoff games.
They’ll have to find a way to slow down another prolific wide receiver if they want to increase their chance of defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s Super Bowl 51.
Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is arguably the most dangerous wide receiver in the NFL. He had nine catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns – one a 73-yard catch-and-run – in the Falcons win against the Restbet Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game.
“He’s probably just one of the most dynamic players in the league,” New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia told reporters last week. “I usually don’t wind up comparing him to other people. I wind up comparing other people to him.”
The Patriots have done a very good of neutralizing wide receivers in the playoffs wins. They held Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins to six catches and 65 yards in the divisional round and limited Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown to seven catches and 77 yards in the AFC Championship game.
Jones presents another big challenge for the Patriots defense.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Jones caught 83 passes for 1,409 yards and six touchdowns despite missing two games during the regular season. Jones has posted at least 1,400 receiving yards in each of the past three seasons.
“They’ve got Julio, the best receiver in the league,” Patriots cornerback Eric Rowe told reporters. “Dude’s fast, big, strong, great hands, great route-running skills. I mean, I’ve seen him shake some DBs out of their shoes. It’s not a surprise.”
Rowe and fellow cornerback Malcolm Butler will alternate covering Jones, but Butler is expected to spend most of the time shadowing Jones during Sunday’s game.
Regardless of who is covering Jones, if the Patriots can limit Jones effectiveness during the game, they will give themselves a better opportunity to win their fifth Super Bowl title.
— Geoffrey C. Arnold | @geoffreyCarnold
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