Ryan, Jones to lead Falcons vs. Cowboys without Romo, Bryant

ARLINGTON, Texas — Matt Ryan and Julio Jones have Atlanta on the kind of roll Tony Romo and Dez Bryant were enjoying with Dallas before long-term injuries sidelined both and clouded the team’s hopes of defending an NFC East title.

The Cowboys (2-0) managed to win each time after Bryant went out in the opener with a broken right foot and Romo was lost a week later with a broken left collarbone that will cause him to miss at least seven games.

Ryan and Jones, meanwhile, are leading the NFC in yards passing and receiving for the Falcons (2-0), who didn’t get their third win until November last year after waiting even longer in 2013.

But they have a shot to get there today against a depleted Dallas offense.

“One of the biggest messages, whether it’s this week or any other week, is that we really don’t want the opponent to dictate our readiness,” first-year Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said. “That means all healthy, not, however it goes.”

Brandon Weeden will make his second start for Dallas after filling in once for Romo last season after a back injury. He lost to Arizona to extend his personal losing streak to eight starts going back to his disappointing twoyear stint in Cleveland to start his career.

Terrance Williams is his top target with Bryant out, and they paired up for a clinching 42-yard touchdown after Weeden came on in the third quarter of last week’s 20-10 victory at Philadelphia.

“I think his command is significantly better, I think he learned from his experiences playing last year,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “He had a really good offseason for us, a really good training camp. I think a lot of that has to do with his comfort level with the system and with the guys around him.”

The comfort level is growing with Ryan and Jones in their fifth season together. Jones has five 100-yard performances in the past six games going back to last season, including a careerhigh 259 yards last December at Green Bay. He had a career-best 13 catches in last week’s 24-20 win over the New York Giants.

“I can look at Matt now or he can look at me and we’re thinking the same thing,” said Jones, who has 276 yards and two touchdowns.

“Just being with Matt for five years now, allowed me to have a better understanding of what he’s looking at and vice versa.”

Things to consider in a meeting of two teams that rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Giants this season: