Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

December 13, 2018 at 12:54 am.

Matchup of heavyweights best part of Sunday’s game

They’ve only met three times in the NFL regular season since duking it out regularly during their college days and they’ve each taken their turn beating the other.

Patrick Peterson vs. Julio Jones will be the game within the game that figures to draw the most attention Sunday when Peterson and the Arizona Cardinals meet Jones and the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. With nothing much else to play for regarding these two slumping teams, a good old-fashioned matchup between NFL superstars can always crank up the excitement.

Peterson, the Cardinals’ perennial Pro Bowl cornerback, hasn’t allowed a single wide receiver to finish with 80 or more receiving yards in a game since Jones mostly beat up on him for 10 receptions and 189 yards with a touchdown during the 2014 season.

Peterson got the better of Jones in the other two matchups that sandwiched that game. He held Jones to a very pedestrian three catches for 33 yards and no touchdowns in 2012 and held him to four receptions for 35 yards and no touchdowns in 2016.

“They’ve been going at it for a while,” Cardinals safety Antoine Bethea said. “Two of the best players at their position in the league, so it’s definitely going to be a dog fight and it’s going to be fun to be out there while it’s happening.”

Not that Bethea will be able to see the competition play out on every single snap, but he’ll watch when he can.

“I’m not going to be able to watch too much, but I know what’s going to be happening,” he said. “Again, it’s two great players going at it. Eventually, I will get the chance to look at it, even if it’s just watching film.”

Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks said he can appreciate the Peterson-Jones matchup, given each player’s status in the league over the last eight seasons since they entered the NFL together in 2011, Peterson the fifth-overall pick out of LSU by Arizona and Jones one spot later out of Alabama to Atlanta.

Both players have crafted brilliant careers and haven’t seemed to slow down in the slightest. Peterson ranks second among NFL corners by allowing just 25 catches to wide receivers this season. Jones, meanwhile, has registered four straight seasons with 1,400 receiving yards or more and leads the league this season with 1,429.

“I think it’s going to be a great matchup,” Wilks said. “You’re talking about two of the best at their position. Who knows? Those two guys could be future Hall of Famers. It’s going to be a great contest. I know Patrick is excited about – I don’t want to call it a challenge – but the opportunity to be able to cover Julio.”

The game itself might not amount to much, but everybody it seems wants to see Peterson vs. Jones.

“Those two players for me through the years, I certainly admire a lot based on their styles, attitudes and how they play,” Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said. “(Julio) and Pat, that’ll provide for some really good ball.”

SERIES HISTORY: 30th regular-season meeting. Cardinals lead series, 15-14. The home team is 21-8 in the series. The Falcons are 12-6 in the series at home. Arizona will be searching for its first win at Atlanta since the 1993 season. This will be the Cardinals’ fifth regular-season meeting at Atlanta in the past nine years.