Julio Jones' 13 receptions against the Giants were the most of his career and tied the franchise mark for a single game. Normally, such a performance would result in a lack of balance in the passing game, but thanks to the efforts of Leonard Hankerson and Jacob Tamme, who combined for 10 catches, this wasn't the case on Sunday.
After an uneventful Falcons debut, Hankerson racked up 77 receiving yards and a touchdown versus New York. His TD, which came with 12:46 left in regulation, brought the Falcons within three points and kickstarted yet another successful come-from-behind victory.
Hankerson also came down with a 12-yard catch in the first quarter to put Atlanta roughly six inches shy of the goal line. Tevin Coleman punched it in on the next snap.
"Any time you can make plays for the team, it feels good," Hankerson said, via the AJC. "I do my job. Whether it's on the practice field or off the field, I continue to do my job."
Tamme finished with 77 yards, as well. Thanks to subtle formation nuances, Matt Ryan and the veteran tight end connected on a number of easy strikes—including a 41-yard grab in the second half, the longest of Tamme's career. New York completely forgot about the former Bronco, who may have fooled the defense by making a block before running his route.
Hankerson found paydirt roughly six and a half minutes later to cap a 12-play, 91-yard possession—the longest scoring drive of the contest.
"I think we had 40-something pass attempts. Every time you're going to throw the ball 40-something times, you've got to distribute it," Ryan said. "I thought those guys did a nice job of stepping up for us. Leonard Hankerson made a great catch in the back of the end zone on the touchdown. He had another one where we got it to the one-inch line, which was a huge third down conversion. I'm fired up about it.
"I'm happy for Hank. He's worked really hard coming in here and has done a great job. Jacob Tamme, he's a professional. He goes out there, he plays hard. He had one of the big plays for us to get the momentum changed. I'm fired up about that."
