Falcons Lineman Jake Matthews Hastily Arrives At 'TNF' Game After Birth of New Son

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It was a long road to Thursday's game for Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman, Jake Matthews.

Cameras caught the racing Matthews as he dashed to his team's locker room ahead of Thursday night's contest against the Carolina Panthers.

Matthews was in danger of missing the game after driving from Carolina to Atlanta Thursday morning to be with his wife and witness the birth of his firstborn child.

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According to the broadcast, Matthews drove to Charlotte, North Carolina from Atlanta and was bracing to hurry back to Bank of America Stadium before the 8:15 p.m. (EST) start time.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank wanted to assist and offered Matthews a seat on his private plane, set for takeoff Thursday afternoon — just barely beating the clock.

Meggi posted a family picture on Instagram Thursday: celebrating her new baby's birthday on gameday.

"Only you would come on game day baby boy! Here we go!! Let’s get dad back for this game!" Meggi's caption read.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported that Matthews was activated ahead of the game despite the uncertainty of his timing. Matthews made true to his commitment and arrived ready to play.

The NFC South matchup Thursday night holds a lot to lose for the Falcons as they look to usurp the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the division lead. The teams are tied at 4-5.