Julio Jones Becomes 2nd Player with 100 Catches Through 12 Games

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones finished Sunday's 23-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 102 catches so far this season, joining Marvin Harrison (2002) as the only players in NFL history to cross the 100-reception plateau in the first 12 games of a campaign, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).Jones had eight catches for 93 yards on 17 targets in Sunday's game, marking the eighth time this season he has caught eight or more passes, along with the 10th time he's drawn double-digit targets.He's on pace to finish the year with 136 catches for 1,784 yards and eight touchdowns on 212 targets, which would leave him eight catches shy of Harrison's record-setting 143 receptions in 2002.There's a big gap between Harrison and second-place Antonio Brown, who caught 129 passes just last season.The 1,784 receiving yards would be good for third place on that single-season list, just three ahead of Isaac Bruce's 1,781 in 1995.If he really gets hot, Jones could even make a run at the single-season receiving yards record of 1,964 set by Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson in 2012.For that to happen, the entire Atlanta team may need to get its act together after losing each of the last five games.All the losing has led to plenty of targets, but with quarterbackMatt Ryan struggling and opponents directing their attention toward Jones, the per-target production has fallen off from earlier this season.
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