Falcons vs. Jets: Takeaways from preseason Week 1

The New York Jets took care of business in their win over the Atlanta Falcons in preseason Week 1. Here are some takeaways from the matchup.

The New York Jets defeated the Atlanta Falcons 17-0 in each team’s first preseason game this past Friday. It was just a preseason game, so we shouldn’t overreact but there are some things worth discussing from Friday’s action.

Let’s start with what everyone’s talking about. How about the quarterback play the Jets received Friday night? Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold were both terrific. Bridgewater entered the game at the start of the Jets second drive where they scored a touchdown.

A key play from that drive was the 4th and three conversion, where Bridgewater was in the pocket, stayed calm and alluded the pressure and delivered a very accurate pass to Jermaine Kearse to keep the chains moving. That was a very impressive play which eventually led to a touchdown. Overall, Bridgewater completed 7-8 passes for 85 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.

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How about Darnold? He was excellent in his first real NFL action. Many people were excited to see him, and he did not disappoint. Now Jets fans all over the world can’t help from thinking that he could be “the guy” for a very very long time.

Defense

Whenever you allow 0 points in a football game, it’s normally safe to say the defense did its job. That was the case Friday night.

The starters obviously didn’t play the whole game, but when they were out there, they were fantastic. The defense allowed just two first downs in the entire first half, and one of them was a meaningless conversion by the Falcons when the Jets were playing prevent defense at the end of the half. The Jets defense also made a key 4th down stop deep in their own territory later in the 2nd half.

What’s next?

The Jets need to sign another quarterback just for these final three preseason games. The only quarterbacks on the roster currently are Josh McCown, Darnold, and Bridgewater. They are all competing for the starting job, and you can’t risk one of them getting hurt because they’re in late in a preseason game. The Jets saw plenty from Darnold in the first half, there was no need to leave him in afterward.

What will happen in these next three preseason games? Will Darnold win the starting job and keep it for a very long time? Only time will tell but so far, the Jets are looking good at the start of preseason action.