Julio Jones ruled out for Week 15 with turf toe

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones will miss his second straight game with turf toe. He won’t play in Week 15’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.

While he was trying to make a return to the gridiron in Week 15, the Atlanta Falcons will be without star wide receiver Julio Jones for a second straight week.

Atlanta’s best player has been dealing with turf toe since Week 13’s home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the “Falcons will continue to play it safe” with Jones and hold him out for Week 15’s home game against the lowly San Francisco 49ers.

#Falcons continue to play it safe with WR Julio Jones: He’s officially ruled out for Sunday with his toe sprain.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 16, 2016

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Atlanta already has one of the most explosive offenses in football and won’t need Jones to play hurt to beat the pitiful 1-12 49ers at home easily. The Falcons are a 13.5-point home favorite over their former NFC West rival.

Atlanta is clearly trying to make sure that Jones will be at full strength for Weeks 16 and 17 versus its two biggest rivals: on the road against the Carolina Panthers and at home against the arch nemesis New Orleans Saints.

The Falcons won’t need Jones to win on Sunday. They have an MVP candidate at quarterback in Matt Ryan, two solid running backs in Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, and other strong wideouts like Mohamed Sanu, Taylor Gabriel, and Justin Hardy.

It’s most important for the Falcons to have Jones at full strength for when they make their NFC Playoff push. The Falcons have three winnable games. 11-5 gets them the NFC South crown. 10-6 probably gets Atlanta in at the very worst as a Wild Card team.