Jets grades vs. Falcons: F's for the offense and the coaches
Jets head coach Robert Saleh looks on in the first half against the Falcons at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
OFFENSE: F
For the third time in five games the Jets didn’t score a touchdown. It was another abysmal performance by the offense, and it started with the quarterback play. Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian combined for 214 yards passing, no touchdowns and two turnovers. They had almost identical passer ratings — Boyle's was 56.8 and Siemian 55.3. They missed receivers a lot. Garrett Wilson was open plenty and caught just three passes for 50 yards. The offensive line didn’t break down as much as in previous games. The quarterbacks just didn’t see the field and step up in the pocket and make the throws. They did take more shots downfield. The three longest plays of the game were pass completions by the Jets, which is rare. Nathaniel Hackett also showed a little more creativity. He used six offensive linemen at times — one as an eligible receiver. A flea-flicker led to a 36-yard completion from Boyle to Xavier Gipson. Breece Hall is really struggling. He had 13 carries for 16 yards. The Jets turned the ball over three times.
DEFENSE: B
They could not have done much more. Jeff Ulbrich’s defense allowed just one touchdown, forced a safety and held the Falcons to four three-and-outs in their last five second-half drives. They gave the offense a chance to do something, anything, and they couldn’t. The Falcons had only 194 yards of offense. The defense held Atlanta to 90 rushing yards, nearly 50 below its average. The one blemish was the penalties. They had four — one negated a D.J. Reed interception and two of them were on a Falcons’ field-goal drive.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C-
Things started well for Brant Boyer’s group. A first-quarter Thomas Morstead punt was downed at the 1 (Irvin Charles saved it and Justin Hardee downed it). It led to the safety. The first half didn’t end well. Hardee had an illegal block on a punt return that pinned the Jets back. On their subsequent punt. Chazz Surratt was flagged for illegal use of the helmet (lowering the head), adding 15 yards to the Falcons’ return. The drive ended with a field goal. Morstead averaged 48.4 yards on his punts. Greg Zuerlein made his two field-goal attempts.
COACHING: F
Whatever they’re doing is not working. They’re on their fourth quarterback and have used three during this five-game losing streak. That’s also the total touchdowns they’ve scored in this skid. Robert Saleh could have turned to Siemian sooner in this game. Would it have mattered? Who knows? Nothing is working. It’s remarkable how other teams can score touchdowns and feature their best players and the Jets can't. They were undisciplined in all phases with 11 penalties total and that falls on everyone.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.