Falcons' Jake Matthews Travels Back To Atlanta For Birth Of His Son, Still Makes It Back To Charlotte In Time For Panthers Game

Indeed, not only did he play a game on TNF, his wife delivered a baby as well during the day. He was not going to miss either event!

The baby was born in the afternoon, so the Falcons began working on getting Matthews back to the team before game time.

The NFL Network reported that Falcons owner Arthur Blank was sending his private plane to Gainesville, Ga., — located about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta — to pick up Matthews and bring him to Charlotte.

Matthews has missed just one game in his nine-year NFL career and that absence was in Week 2 of his rookie season in 2014. He has since played in 141 consecutive games, counting five postseason contests.

The Falcons posted a video of Matthews in shorts and a T-shirt jogging down the tunnel at Bank of America Stadium and into the Atlanta locker room about 80 minutes before kickoff to begin preparation for the NFC South matchup.