ATLANTA -- There was a reason neither Julio Jones nor Matt Ryan sweated Jones' one-catch outing against the New Orleans Saints last Monday night.
Maybe they knew they were just saving it all up for the Carolina Panthers.
It sure looked that way Sunday, as the Atlanta Falcons dominated what was supposed to be a strong Panthers defense thanks, in large part, to the deep connection between Jones and Ryan. And now the 3-1 Falcons look like the team to beat in the NFC South -- if the defense doesn't give up 40-plus points per game -- after a 48-33 win over the Panthers.
Jones, coming off a calf injury, had catches of 75, 53, 43 and 32 yards on a day he set a franchise record with 300 receiving yards. The 75-yarder was a catch-and-run touchdown in the fourth quarter where he slipped by the coverage and a weak tackle attempt by Bene Benwikere. The play put him right at the 300 mark, the sixth time a player has had 300 yards in NFL history.
Jones also surpassed the previous record of 259 yards he had against Green Bay in 2014.
"It looked pretty good from where I was standing," Ryan said of Jones' score off a crossing route. "That was a great call, I think a really aggressive call by Kyle [Shanahan] in that situation."
On the same play, Ryan set a franchise record with 503 passing yards (28-of-37 with four touchdowns) surpassing the previous record of 448 he put up against New Orleans in 2014.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there had never been a 500-yard passer and 300-yard receiver in the same game in NFL history.
"The connection with Matt and Julio today was as strong as ever," Falcons coach Dan Quinn said.
Going down the field and creating explosive plays is something Ryan and Jones talked about all offseason. In fact, Ryan spent time with two former baseball players to work on his throwing mechanics and strengthened his arm. Jones was one of the first to note how much stronger Ryan looked throwing the deep ball.
The Falcons knew they could hit for big plays against Luke Kuechly and an overly aggressive Panthers defense always intent on shutting down the run. It's something Shanahan picked up from the past and was ready to expose. It was just up to Ryan and Jones to execute, and up to the offensive line to hold up its end of the bargain and give Ryan enough time to throw.
It helped that the Panthers single-covered Jones at key times with an inexperienced secondary no longer boasting Josh Norman. Rookie cornerback James Bradberry got banged up early in the game, which didn't help the Panthers' cause. Then another rookie cornerback, Daryl Worley, saw time on Jones.
"They put the young corner on me man-to-man," Jones said. "If they would have two-manned me or cheating a safety over to me, Matt would have made great reads and hit the others guys that were open. ... But they singled me out today one-on-one. And Matt made some great decisions."
Jones was asked if this might be the last time he draws one-on-one coverage.
"Um, we'll see," he said. "Defensive coordinators, you never know what they have in store. ... You just have to be ready for any and everything."
But Jones would be just fine if those defensive coordinator continue to single-cover him.
"I love it," Jones said.
Nothing symbolized the big-play mindset for Jones and Ryan then when Ryan misfired on a deep ball to Jones midway through the second quarter, only to go right back to Jones two plays later for a 53-yard hookup virtually in the same spot.
One of Jones' catches helped set up Devonta Freeman's 13-yard touchdown run. And Ryan hit on touchdown passes of 42 and 35 yards to rookie tight end Austin Hooper and wide receiver Aldrick Robinson, respectively, in the third quarter. Hooper was wide open left on his touchdown because Jones drew added coverage on the right side of the field.
Ryan also had the 32-yard connection with Jones while engineering scoring drives of 99 and 92 yards in the third.
"But we can still get better," Ryan said. "Made a mistake down there early in the game and turned the ball over and gave them an opportunity to score points [on an interception returned for a touchdown].
"Julio played awesome. He was huge for us in critical situations and showed how great of a player he is. So that was fun to be a part of that."
So what does it all mean in the big picture? Well, if the Falcons continue to be dominant on offense, they just might be able to compete with anyone in the league. Hitting on such big plays will be tough against Von Miller and the Denver Broncos next week and Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks in two weeks.
But the way Jones and Ryan looked Sunday, they look capable of being explosive against anybody.