CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews found out his wife was in labor with their first child and made it back to Atlanta from Charlotte to witness the birth of Beckett Matthews on Thursday. Hours later, he played in the Falcons’ 22-15 loss to the Panthers with one quick turnaround, thanks to a VIP plane ride.
“I left the hotel about 9:30 a.m. (Thursday),” Matthews said. “I made it to her about 12:30 p.m. He was born, I believe, at 3:15 p.m. I left at 3:30 p.m. to get on (owner) Mr. (Arthur) Blank’s plane. I got 15 minutes with him. It was whirlwind. I was anxious. I was happy to make it here.”
The Falcons traveled to Charlotte on Wednesday after practice. The plan was for Matthews’ wife, Meggi, to be induced Sunday so they thought it was safe to play the game Thursday night. However, Wednesday night, Meggi said she felt different. Clearly, Beckett had his own timeline to enter the world, NFL game or not.
A member of the Falcons’ security team drove Matthews back to Atlanta.
Upon his return to Charlotte, the team posted a video of him running into the locker room about an hour before the 8:15 p.m. kickoff.
“I got a round of applause,” Matthew said. “(There was) a lot of high-fiving. It was pretty surreal.”
The Matthews had picked out the name Beckett awhile back. Jake had limited measurables on the family addition, saying he was about six pounds but “pretty long.”
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Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
Nov. 10 Panthers 25, Falcons 15
Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
