Maxwell learns lesson in Eagles' debut: No keeping up with this Jones
Byron Maxwell got big bucks to come in and be a shutdown cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Maxwell's debut was hardly what he envisioned as he was torched repeatedly by Julio Jones on Monday night in the Eagles' 26-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
.@JulioJones_11 finished the night with 141 receiving yards... He grabbed 44 of them on this play. #PHIvsATL http://t.co/enOUG15Vri
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2015
"Julio is a great player," said Maxwell, who was lured away from the Seattle Seahawks by a six-year, $63 million dollar contract. "He's big. He's strong. He's fast. This was my first time going against him. He's a big, strong dude."
Jones ran roughshod over Maxwell and Philadelphia's secondary with nine receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Jones was a one-man show with eight of those catches and both scores in the first half.
According to @PFF, Byron Maxwell was targeted 11 times last night. He allowed 10 catches for 179 yards, both worst in the NFL in Week 1.
— Corey Seidman (@CoreySeidmanCSN) September 15, 2015
Maxwell was targeted 11 times overall in the contest and gave up 10 receptions for 179 yards - both league worsts in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus.
He did bottle up Jones for much of the second half until the Falcons wideout blew by him and snagged a 44-yard strike to set up what would be the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter.
"We have to be better," Maxwell said. "Yeah, that last one. That was bad."
(h/t True Jersey, Pro Football Focus)
