Jake Matthews Set to Make Atlanta Falcons History

Jake Matthews will make history Sunday when the Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle makes his 200th career start against the New Orleans Saints.

Matthews will become just the fourth player in Falcons history to reach 200 or more career starts, joining an exclusive group that highlights his remarkable longevity with the franchise. He has spent his entire 13-year NFL career with Atlanta, becoming one of the longest-tenured players in team history.

Reaching 200 starts is an accomplishment Matthews admitted he did not fully appreciate until this week.

“To be honest, I wasn't fully aware,” Matthews said. “But pretty surreal.”

Matthews was quick to deflect the credit for his longevity, pointing instead to his ability to stay healthy and the people around him who have helped him throughout his career.

“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.”

Matthews has missed only one game during his NFL career, a remarkable run that began with his rookie season in 2014. Coincidentally, his first career start came against New Orleans, giving Sunday's milestone another connection to the beginning of his career.

“I got hurt in that game,” Matthews said of his first start. “Man, feels like a lifetime.”

Matthews acknowledged how different he is from the player who took his first NFL snaps more than a decade ago.

“Completely different person,” he said. “It's pretty cool how far I've come and how long it's been here.”

The Saints have provided Matthews with another memorable moment in his career. Atlanta's 2016 matchup against New Orleans came during the Falcons' Super Bowl season, when the team put together one of the most prolific offenses in franchise history.

Now Matthews will return to New Orleans for his 200th career start.

“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.”

While Matthews has continued to build his professional legacy, his family has become an increasingly important part of his life away from football.

Matthews revealed that he and his wife, Meggi, are expecting their third child. He credited her with playing a major role in 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.”

Matthews said the demands of raising a family have also changed his perspective off the field.

“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 Matthews prepares for this historic start, he is not putting a specific number on how many more games he wants to play. 

“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.”

 Matthews will add another chapter to that remarkable run as they face the Saints on Monday Night.