Falcons BREAKING: OT Jake Matthews Status vs. Panthers Revealed After First Child Arrives

Atlanta Falcons starting left tackle Jake Matthews has had a special - and hectic - Thursday but will get a return to normalcy against the Carolina Panthers.

The Atlanta Falcons are set to engage in a wet, physical slugfest with the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football inside Bank of America Stadium - and are fortunate to have one of their best offensive linemen in the mix.

Left tackle Jake Matthews, who's started all nine games this season and missed just one contest (Week 2 of his rookie year) over his entire career, flew back to Atlanta from Charlotte on Thursday morning as his wife, Meggi, entered labor with the couple's first child, Beckett, per NFL Network.

"The Falcons plan is to have him be there for the birth and ideally come back in time to play for tonight's game," NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe reported.

Wolfe added that he spoke with Falcons coach Arthur Smith, who shared that the baby hadn't yet arrived as of seven hours before kickoff. The initial expected arrival date was Sunday - but things can obviously change in a hurry, as they did Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

But now, NFL Network has reported that Matthews is heading to the airplane and is poised to be on his way back to Charlotte as the baby has been delivered; the new dad should be able to make it to the field in plenty of time for Thursday night's game, assuming his normal starting spot at as quarterback Marcus Mariota's blindside protector.

If Matthews had been unable to play, the Falcons would've likely started either veteran Germain Ifedi or Chuma Edoga in his place at left tackle. Both new acquisitions, whoever received the nod would've been taking their first offensive snaps as a Falcon.

Matthews' presence is especially significant considering the issue alongside him, as Atlanta will be starting its third string left guard, Colby Gossett, who will be making his second start of the season. Gossett will be replacing Elijah Wilkinson and Matt Hennessy, both of whom are on injured reserve with knee injuries.

While Thursday night's game is an important one for the Falcons' NFC South title hopes, it doesn't come close to matching up with the birth of a child. Fortunately for both the team and player, Matthews should be able to make it back to Charlotte and have a chance to make an already crazy and special day even more memorable.

Atlanta and Carolina are set to kick off at 8:15 p.m. on Amazon Prime.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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