Earlier on Tuesday, there was a report that Falcons running back Steven Jackson could miss some time because of the thigh injury that knocked him out of last Sunday’s victory over the Rams.
That report was right on the money. Falcons coach Mike Smith announced on Tuesday afternoon that Jackson will miss the team’s Week Three game against the Dolphins. And Smith’s announcement also suggested that Jackson’s absence might last longer than just one week.
“It’s short term. Don’t know if that’s two or three weeks,” Smith said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Falcons will turn to Jacquizz Rodgers and Jason Snelling, although they won’t be able to replace Jackson’s production individually or as a tandem. That will mean a lot of balls in the air when Atlanta is on offense and it could also test their injury-depleted defense. If all that throwing leads to shorter possessions, either because of missed connections or because the Falcons pick up bigger chunks of yardage without burning enough clock, the thinned ranks on that side of the ball could have a more difficult time of it.