Every no hitter needs a game-saving catch. Every shutout needs a ridiculous kick-save. Every record-setting performance needs one signature play. For 56 minutes on Sunday, Julio Jones was torching the division rival Panthers' secondary, but it wasn't until Carolina pulled back within one score in the fourth quarter that Jones put on the after-burners and ran into the record books.
Jones' legend-cementing 75-yard catch-and-run topped Week 4's Top "Performance Moments of the Week", presented by Bridgestone.
Up eight points with just under four minutes left to play and Cam Newton in the locker room, all Matt Ryan and the Falcons needed to do was move the ball, accumulate first downs and run the clock out. Jones, who was sitting at 225 receiving yards on the day, had other plans.
As Ryan took the snap from Atlanta's own 25, Jones swam past a pressing Bene' Benwikere on the left sideline and cut on an inside slant at the 33-yard line. Ryan found his star receiver in stride and off Jones went. Sprinting past Benwikere and late-arriving safety Michael Griffin with ease, Jones turned the corner alongside the right sideline and sprinted toward the end zone, putting the game out of reach and launching himself to his first 300-yard day at the office.
With the catch-and-run, Jones became the first wideout to reach the 300-yard receiving plateau since Calvin Johnson in 2013 and only the fourth to do it in the Super Bowl era. The six-year wideout reached a max speed of 21.09 MPH on the play, which just so happened to be the fastest speed on a touchdown reception in Week 4. But most importantly, Julio's score put the nail in Carolina's coffin and took Atlanta back to the top of the NFC South.
Also on the countdown: Michael Crabtree continues his redemption tour with yet another game-winning touchdown grab, and a pretty one at that. ... The Seahawks finally found a way to get Jimmy Graham involved in the offense: make him catch back-shoulder throws one-handed. ... After this game-winning punt return, NRG Stadium is hereby renamed Fuller House.
