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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu said he told Julio Jones that Jones would go off for 250 or so receiving yards on Sunday. But Sanu probably didn't tell Jones that he would throw him a deep ball to help Jones reach the mark. Sanu's 51-yard touchdown pass to Jones on third-and-1 off the Wildcat -- or 12 Gauge, as the Falcons call the formation -- was the talk of the locker room following the Falcons' 34-20 triumph over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Jones' season-best 12-catch, 253-yard, two-touchdown effort. Sanu sailed the ball down the middle of the field as Jones blew by Buccaneers safety Justin Evans. "Yeah, I saw it was 11 one-on-one and ... I'll take that 100 times out of 100," Sanu said of the pass play to Jones. The throw was perfect, though Sanu did bobble the snap. "I ran into the running back a little bit, and then I got a good handle on it and just let it go," he said. Coach Dan Quinn got a kick out of it after a moment. "I wasn’t confident in it when I saw him bobble that snap, but I knew when he ripped it down the field we had a pretty good chance at it," Quinn said. "He can throw it. He can punt it. He can kick it. And he can damn sure catch it." Sanu, who first played quarterback in Pee Wee and was a triple-option QB in high school, is now 6-for-6 passing for 228 yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 158.3 in his NFL career, dating to his days with the Cincinnati Bengals. Sanu is the first non-quarterback to throw two 50-plus-yard touchdowns since Walter Payton, and Sanu is the first wide receiver to do so since the 1970 merger.  Here's another example of how impressive Sanu's throw to Jones was. This is the list of the longest touchdown throws this season, in terms of air yards, according to ESPN Stats & Information:
55: Deshaun Watson, Texans vs. Seahawks 54: Jared Goff, L.A. Rams vs. Giants 53: Carson Wentz, Eagles vs. Redskins 50: Mohamed Sanu, Falcons vs. Bucs
How far can Sanu throw a ball? "Probably 75, 80 [yards]," Sanu said. Jones certainly was impressed. "I knew it was in the game plan, but we never [practiced] it full-speed," Jones said. "It's just one of those things, like, 'Hey, we get this look, throw the ball.'" Would Sanu have thrown the ball if Jones had been tripled-covered? "My guy Sanu, I'm pretty sure he probably would have," Jones said. "Just to give me the opportunity because, you know, it's like my brother, and he's just going to give me an opportunity to make a play. ... Sanu, he can throw a great ball." Matt Ryan doesn't have to look over his shoulder just yet, though the QB also marveled at Sanu's pass. On the play, Ryan split out wide right and lined up against Buccaneers cornerback and former Falcon Brent Grimes. "If there's 10 guys out there, I was No. 11," Ryan said of what option he was. "I told [Sanu] I was open, though. I hear that enough from them, so throw it back at them."
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