Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is coming off a pair of monster weeks against the Cardinals and Packers and the chances of him keeping the ball rolling against the Steelers seem good based on the way Ike Taylor’s been playing since returning from a broken forearm.
Taylor gave up a long touchdown to Saints wideout Kenny Stills in Week 13 and A.J. Green won his battle with Taylor convincingly in last Sunday’s Bengals loss to Pittsburgh, which presented an appealing matchup for Jones this Sunday. Jones may not wind up seeing much or any of Taylor, however.
Taylor didn’t play in the fourth quarter against the Bengals because of right shoulder and left knee injuries. On Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said it was too early to know if Taylor would play this weekend against Atlanta and too early to know if Taylor would start if he is in the lineup.
“That’s to be determined,” Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We just need to, first of all, get a handle of where he is from a health standpoint, and then make a decision accordingly.”
The Steelers currently sit as the top Wild Card team in the AFC and they are just behind the Bengals in the race for the AFC North title, so they need as many wins as they can get in the final three weeks. Stopping Jones is going to help that cause tremendously, regardless of whether it is Taylor or someone else matching up with the Atlanta star.