Aaron Glenn's shoutout to Nick Folk shows how timeless Jets kicker is

In a year where the New York Jets are one of the youngest teams in the league and have placed an outsized emphasis on developing these growing players, 41-year-old kicker Nick Folk continued to prove he is one of the best players on the squad in a pulse-pounding way against the Atlanta Falcons.

Just a bit after Folk missed his first kick of the year on a cold and rainy afternoon, Folk managed to barely sneak in a game-winning 56-yard boot that pushed New York to 3-9 on the season with a 27-24 victory.

Folk was an obvious candidate to receive the lone game ball Glenn gave out in this game. Glenn's testimony to how long Folk has been drilling kicks shows the Jets have something truly remarkable in the aging kicker, who is one of the best players at his position in the league.

Glenn, 53, was a member of the 2007 Dallas Cowboys (who used a sixth-round pick on a then-rookie Folk) during the offseason. Glenn is now coaching his former teammate in New York, as Folk's career has now gone on so long that he may end up extending it to two full decades.

Aaron Glenn shouts out former teammate Nick Folk with Week 13 game ball

Folk, who led the NFL in field goal percentage during the last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans, has been one of the few consistent standouts in what has been a season mostly filled with losing. Even at age 41, Folk's accurate leg has been a bastion of reliability.

Folk is one of the main reasons special teams coordinator Chris Banjo and the Jets have one of the best special teams units in the NFL. In addition to Folk, punter Austin McNamara has proven to be an upgrade over greybeard Thomas Morstead. Kene Nwangwu is one of the NFL's best kick returners, and Isaiah Williams has become a quality punt returner.

The Jets have now gone 3-2 in their last five games. While all of those wins came against backup quarterbacks (Kirk Cousins, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel), Glenn has beaten the teams that are in his weight class and put up two respectable performances on the road against possible playoff teams in the Patriots and Ravens.

Folk's NFL career may not have many more years left, but if he keeps nailing kicks for old teammate Glenn's squad, he may have the kicker spot locked up until he decides he has had enough.