One of the top storylines heading into Sunday’s game between the Vikings and Falcons was the matchup between Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes and Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones.
Jones was coming off a 253-yard game against Tampa, but Rhodes had success in past meetings with the Falcons star that proved to be a sign of things to come. Jones caught two passes for 24 yards in a 14-9 Vikings win as Rhodes and company kept Atlanta from going to their top target for most of the afternoon.
“Like I said in all my interviews before, Julio can get his,” Rhodes said, via ESPN.com. “He’s going to get his catches, they’re going to try and feature him any possible way. We were just aware of it. I wasn’t on him all game. I was on him 90 percent of the game, but when I wasn’t, we still covered him.”
Safety Andrew Sendejo had a key breakup when Jones appeared to shake loose of the coverage and the secondary’s work against Jones had a ripple effect on the entire Falcons offense. Matt Ryan’s 173 passing yards were his lowest in a game since 2013 and that kind of defensive performance is why the Vikings are now in posession of the top perch on NFC playoff ladder.