NY Jets: 3 quick thoughts from Week 5 loss to the Falcons

One step forward, two steps back for the NY Jets as they lost to the Atlanta Falcons 27-20 to drop to 1-4.

Another week, another slow start for the NY Jets

Going into the bye week, head coach Robert Saleh is going to have to figure out a way to get his team out to better starts as they find themselves falling behind the eight-ball week after week.

While they were able to overcome it last week against the Tennessee Titans, this is a pattern Gang Green will need to shed if they want to make anything out of this season.

“It's a multitude of things,” Saleh said regarding the slow starts. “We’ve got to start faster and I’m putting that on me to try to figure this out over the next week.”

Coming into this game, the Falcons were viewed as a winnable opponent so to spot them 20 points is a mistake that should not happen. The Jets are not the type of team that can spend the day trying to dig out of a hole otherwise, more often than not, they will come out on the losing end.

A Jekyll and Hyde offense

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this team so far is the two-faced nature of the offense. Through the first five games, the Jets have scored zero first-quarter points and 13 first-half points.

While the defense has been stout enough to keep them in most of these games, it is hard to win any games in the NFL when an offense gives that little production through the first 30 minutes.

“In the second half of every single game we’ve looked really good and we know what we’re capable of and we’re able to show it there at the end,” Zach Wilson said. “I think we’ve got to get a good rhythm going, some flow.”

However, for whatever reason Gang Green’s offense seems to come alive as the game wears on considering they have combined for 54 points in the second half.

Whether it is a case of offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s play-calling or Wilson trying too hard too early, the Jets need to find a way to play complementary football for 60 minutes and not rely solely on their defense to keep them in games.

As cold as (Matty) ice

While the Jets found themselves in this game late into the fourth quarter, this was not the type of effort their defense should be proud of.

Even with injuries to his two leading receivers Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage, Matt Ryan found a way to carve up Gang Green’s defense to the tune of 33-of-45 for 342 yards and two touchdowns.

“We’ve got to find a way to get off,” Saleh said. “I thought we came in with a good plan, thought the guys were executing early, but when you stack up plays and you’re getting the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh play of the drive it gets very hard.”

The duo of Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson also torched the Jets as the two combined for 16 receptions for 179 yards and one touchdown. Also, with the game essentially on the line, the Falcons were able to convert a 3rd-and-13 with 4:52 left leading to a TD to put the game out of reach.

While the box score might read 27-20, this game was not as close as it appeared as Gang Green did a poor job of containing this short-handed Falcons squad.