Falcons vs. Jets: Top 5 takeaways from Week 8

The New York Jets for a third straight week lose a tough one in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons as here are the top five takeaways from this game.

The New York Jets continue to struggle in Week 8 as they lost to the Atlanta Falcons at MetLife Stadium with the final score 25-20. From the start of the second half and to the end of the game, the Jets had a shot to defeat the Falcons but they stumbled through key situations.

Looking at the offensive side of the football, the penalties on the offensive line killed the momentum they had. After starting off strong, the Jets offense went 3 and out a lot and made the defense be on the field way too long.

With the loss, the Jets are now 3-5 and will need to regroup quickly and prepare for the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. In this game, there were a lot of things that as a fan you shake your head.

Now, let’s take a deeper look and break down the top five takeaways from this Week 8 matchup.

Next: 5. Offense struggles in the second half once again

5. Offense struggles in the second half once again

Just like the previous three weeks, the Jets looked completely lost in the second half and couldn’t establish consistent scoring drives.

The Jets established 279 yards of total offense which is not great but with the weather conditions, it was acceptable. They had multiple penalties in the game and three of the six were on the offensive side of the football.

The play calling in the second half wasn’t mixed up which is frustrating to see under offensive coordinator John Morton. The passing game should have been used a lot more rather than the running game.

The offense in the second half needed to stay on the field longer to give a rest to the defense. It ultimately led them to lose what was a close contest against the Falcons.  They can’t expect to get any better if they continue to play like this week in and week out.

Next: 4. Defense can't establish any consistent pressure

4. Defense can’t establish any consistent pressure

For the third straight week, it was difficult to watch due to the defensive line of the Jets bringing very little pressure at all against quarterback Matt Ryan. As the game went on, Ryan was able to make the Jets secondary look like fools.

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Ryan threw for 254 yards and looked like he was having a grand old-time against the Jets secondary in the second half. The Falcons were 2 for 6 in the red zone and the Jets were unable to do much against them as they scored multiple times in the second half.

The defensive line was supposed to be amongst the best in the NFL, and they continue to show no improvement and no heart. They don’t apply consistent pressure and they got embarrassed by too many missed assignments.

The offense of the Falcons dropped 386 yards of total offense which tells you nothing continues to change from week to week. Like always, it is frustrating to watch as it’s clear to see the lack of effort and execution from their defensive line.

Next: 3. Secondary struggles continue to be exposed

3. Secondary struggles continue to be exposed

For a third straight week, the Jets had a horrific performance when it came to their defensive secondary which makes it frustrating to watch. Three costly penalties and too many missed coverages allowed the Falcons receivers and tight end to get open.

Clearly, the secondary of the Jets has major work ahead of them before they can play a solid football game. If this isn’t fixed sooner than later than elite quarterbacks will continue to pick them apart.

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Obviously, the secondary needs to work as a cohesive unit, but yet again they are lacking fundamentals of coverage, assignments, and executing as a group. They need to stop making bonehead plays and play like they know they are able to.

Next: 2. Offensive line continues to get worse

2. Offensive line continues to get worse

The weakest part of the team gets exposed even more after the way they performed today. Sunday, it showed big time as the offensive line didn’t get any penetration to drive back defenders.

Even though this is an inexperienced line, they are not communicating in when blitzes are occurring or who needs to block who. The offensive line was not able to contain the Falcons defensive pressure which allowed them to cash in on the field positioning. Three costly penalties brought on themselves which hurt drives down the stretch.

This inexperienced line is going to get McCown hurt sooner or later. They need to get it together eventually, one of the younger linemen may take their spots if they can’t get it together.

Next: 1. The costly mistakes of special teams

1. The costly mistakes of special teams

So far this season, the Jets special teams have been successful but Sunday was a different story. Two missed field goals and one fumble on a punt was the x-factor.

These are areas of the game that could kill any momentum of scoring points and it happened. Kicker Chandler Catanzaro normally is clutch and Sunday was one of his worst games. He went 1 for 3 in field goal attempts which is shocking and those are points you can not waste.

Catanzaro took Nick Folk‘s spot after he was cut in the offseason and has been for the most part consistent but Sunday was surprising to see. He shocked many Jets fans including the players for how he was missing kicks he usually hits.

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Late in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Jeremy Kerley was waiting to catch the punt but ending up fumbling it. When you are backed up near the end zone you let those kicks bounce away and not attempt to touch them. He was turned around and the football went right through his arms. It was a costly play after because the Falcons were able to establish three more points which forced the Jets to be down five to seal the win.