The Falcons will be forced to beat the Rams on Sunday without their best offensive player. Roughly two hours before kickoff, the Falcons ruled out Julio Jones.


A week ago, Jones suffered a turf-toe injury, but he indicated that the injury wasn't serious.

"It's football,'' Jones said after the game, per ESPN.com. "You're going to get banged up. You're going to get little nagging injuries here and there from the game. I'm OK. I'll be good to go.''

Falcons coach Dan Quinn said something similar.

"Hopefully, he's on a shorter-term [timetable],'' Quinn said, per ESPN.com."We'll get a chance to see what he looks like Wednesday."

The team initially listed Jones as questionable heading into the game, but his designation changed just a couple hours before kickoff. And keep in mind that the Falcons already ruled out Mohamed Sanu, which means Matt Ryan will be without his top two wideouts.

Without Sanu and Jones, who ranks first in the NFL with 1,253 receiving yards, Ryan will be forced to throw more frequently to Taylor Gabriel, Justin Hardy, and Aldrick Robinson. Furthermore, the Rams should expect to see a heavy dose of the Falcons' running back duo, Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.

The Falcons have raced out to a 7-5 record almost entirely due to their offense, which ranks first in scoring. But if they're to remain atop the NFC South (they're tied with the Buccaneers), they'll need to beat the Rams in Los Angeles without their best player. That won't be easy, even though their opponent is coached by Jeff Fisher.