Jake Matthews is about to hit a number few players ever reach, and he’ll do it in a place that’s already been part of his NFL story.
When the Atlanta Falcons face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Matthews will make his 200th career start. That puts the veteran offensive tackle in rare company: he’ll become just the fourth player in Falcons history to log 200 or more starts.
It’s a milestone built on staying power. Matthews has spent all 13 of his NFL seasons in Atlanta, becoming one of the most durable and longest-tenured players the franchise has ever had. He has missed only one game since entering the league in 2014.
Even so, he said the significance of the number didn’t fully register until this week.
“To be honest, I wasn't fully aware,” Matthews said. “But pretty surreal.”
For Matthews, the credit goes less to any one thing he’s done and more to the chance he’s had to stay on the field.
“I can't reiterate enough how much God has blessed me to have a body that can continue to do this and stay free from injury, and that's stuff I can't take credit for,” Matthews said. “Just very thankful to him and how good he's been to me.”
Sunday’s start will also tie back to where it all began. Matthews’ first career start came against New Orleans, though that game ended with him getting hurt.
“I got hurt in that game,” Matthews said of his first start. “Man, feels like a lifetime.”
More than a decade later, he says the player he was then is hardly recognizable now.
“Completely different person,” he said. “It's pretty cool how far I've come and how long it's been here.”
The Saints have already been part of one of the biggest chapters of Matthews’ career. Atlanta’s 2016 meeting with New Orleans came during the Falcons’ Super Bowl season, when the team put together one of the most prolific offenses in franchise history.
Now he returns to New Orleans for another marker in his career, and he knows exactly what kind of setting awaits.
“It's pretty surreal,” Matthews said. “Obviously going down there, playing that environment, it's always special. It's gonna be loud, it's gonna be challenging.”
Off the field, Matthews’ life is growing too. He said he and his wife, Meggi, are expecting their third child, and he made clear how much she has meant to him during the back half of his career.
“She’s been a huge part of the second half of my career,” Matthews said. “She sacrifices a lot for me to be out here.”
He also said fatherhood has changed the way he looks at everything away from football.
“I was pretty used to going home to do what I want whenever I want to do it,” Matthews said. “Now, it's, you gotta put other people in front of yourself.”
As for how long he plans to keep going, Matthews isn’t setting a finish line.
“You keep chipping away, you make it through each week, and then you wake up one day, and it's like the 13th season, like 200 games. So, I keep that formula going.”
And on Monday Night, that formula will carry him into Falcons history once again.
In Other News...
Jake Matthews Is Suddenly A Falcons Concern At The Worst Time
Jake Matthews has long been one of the Falcons quiet constants, the kind of veteran left tackle Atlanta could usually trust to steady things no matter what else was happening around him. This season has brought a different picture. According to Pro Football Focus grades and what has shown up on game tape, Matthews has slipped well below the level the Falcons are used to getting, and his performance has become a real issue on both the passing and running fronts.
The timing could hardly be worse, with New Orleans coming up in Week 4 and bringing a pass rush that is built to stress any shaky edge protection. For a Falcons offense trying to settle in, Matthews struggles add another layer of concern, especially because his track record has always been about durability and dependability. Now Atlanta has to wonder whether one of its most trusted veterans can hold up in a matchup that is likely to put him under the microscope from the first snap. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Head To New Orleans With Penix Adding Real Juice To This Rivalry
A Monday night trip to New Orleans always carries some extra edge for Atlanta, and this one arrives with the Falcons coming off their first win under Kevin Stefanski. Michael Penix Jr.s return from the ACL injury has given the offense a noticeably different feel, and his presence adds another layer to a divisional game that already tends to come with plenty of noise and little patience.
The Saints, meanwhile, enter Week 4 with Tyler Shough at quarterback and plenty of passing production behind him, as he sits second in the league in that category. So the setup is simple enough: an improving Falcons team trying to build on some momentum, a high-volume Saints passing attack, and a rivalry that could get a lot more interesting if Penix keeps bringing the kind of spark Atlanta has been missing. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons' Early Draft Outlook Could Shape Their Next Big Decision
A speculative 2027 NFL mock draft already has an early feel for where the Falcons could be headed, and it points them toward a place they have spent plenty of time thinking about: the offensive line. In that projection, Jordan Seaton lands in Atlanta in the first round, a reminder that the next big roster question for the Falcons may be less about flash and more about keeping the foundation sturdy as the years move on.
The broader mock draft is still in the realm of educated guesswork, with Jeremiah Smith slotted to the top overall pick for Miami and other premium names like Colin Simmons and Leonard Moore going early to teams with clear needs. For the Falcons, though, the line choice stands out because it reflects a familiar reality in roster building, where protecting the quarterback and shoring up the front can shape how the rest of the draft board is attacked. [Read more 🡒]