Jets vs. Falcons: Takeaways from Atlanta's 30-28 Loss to New York
The Atlanta Falcons' record falls to 1-4 with another late-game slip-up, allowing another young quarterback to lead a game-winning drive.
Geno Smith and the New York Jets followed suit just as Ryan Tannehill and the Miami Dolphins did two weeks ago. After the Falcons took a 28-27 lead with less than two minutes remaing, Smith led the Jets drive down the field to set up a game-winning field goal from Nick Folk as time expired.
Every loss by Atlanta this season has come by a very small margin, yet the Falcons seem unable to finish games. In a year where the Falcons were looking for ways to win big games in the postseason, they have yet to find ways to win normal games in the regular season.
The Falcons head into a bye next week and will have plenty to look at from this game to try to correct, but also to build off.
Falcons Have Some Soul-Searching to Do
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The Falcons' playoff hopes are evaporating right before their eyes. With a 1-4 record, the team has no shot at winning the division barring a miraculous turnaround. The wild-card spot isn't completely out of their grasp, but if the team doesn't pick up its play, it soon will be. The Falcons head into their bye and will have a lot more questions than answers.
Injuries have played a factor in why the Falcons have not played well this year, but it isn't an excuse as to why they've lost. Despite their injuries, they've had opportunities to win each of their four losses.
After their bye week, they hope to be healthier. Steven Jackson should be back, and other players such as Roddy White, Julio Jones, Sam Baker and Akeem Dent should also get much-needed time to rest up. But regardless of improved health, if the Falcons don't come out of their bye and start to rack up some wins, this season will go down the drain.
Smith's Decisions Continue to Come Under Scrutiny
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Mike Smith's decision not to kick the field goal at the end of the first half will certainly come under heavy scrutiny. And the extra time to contemplate things during the bye won't help. Fair or unfair, the Falcons' poor start has already triggered questions about whether Smith is on the hot seat. That decision won't help matters, particularly after consecutive weeks where decisions to go for points or kick field goals were similarly questioned.
It's hard to argue whether taking the three points would have changed the result of the game. After all, it doesn't change the fact that regardless the defense needed to make a stop at the end to win the game, and it did not.
The defense of Smith's decision centers on the Falcons' inability to convert touchdowns in the red zone. And settling for three in that situation doesn't get the Falcons out of that rut.
The simple truth is the losing hurts Smith more than anything. And his questionable in-game management decisions only fans the flames for those who wish 2013 is his final season in Atlanta.
Are the Falcons Red-Zone Woes Over?
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Atlanta scored touchdowns on four of five red-zone trips on the night, which at face value suggests that the team managed to overcome its inability to convert there from previous games.
But a deeper examination suggests that there is still cause for concern. While the Falcons did manage to punch the ball in for touchdowns, it took them several plays to do so. The Falcons ran a total of 26 plays in the red zone against the Jets. They had a total of 70 plays overall, with red-zone snaps accounting for over a third of their offensive plays.
Their first two red-zone trips resulted in a combined 15 plays and included a pair of Jets penalties that extended those drives. The latter of those two drives included nine plays and was the trip that ended the first half in failure. Their next two red-zone trips only needed three plays for the Falcons to find the end zone. Their final trip lasted eight plays, and again, it included a Jets penalty that gave the team a new set of downs on a controversial holding call after the Falcons failed on fourth down.
To a certain extent, you can say the ends justify the means in this case. And the Jets certainly have a stout defense that would make it tough for any offense to score. But the number of chances the Falcons had and their struggles to punch it in suggest that while this game is a stepping stone for the Falcons' red-zone offense, they still have a ways to go before they are truly reliable.
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Falcons Can't Win in Must-Have Yards
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It has become an unfortunate trend over the years that when the Falcons need a yard, they rarely are able to attain it. Particularly when it comes to running the ball in short-yardage situations.
That issue reared its ugly head again Monday night against the Jets, as the Falcons were bottled up in a number of short-yardage situations. The most obvious one came at the end of the first half when the Falcons tried to run the ball with Jacquizz Rodgers up the gut and were stuffed.
But that was one of several instances where in short-yardage situations, the Falcons handed the ball off to Rodgers and he was bottled up in the backfield.
The Falcons ran the ball nine times with three or less yards to go, and only on three of them did they manage to convert the first down. Thankfully, two of those conversions came in the red zone. Both were scoring plays by Rodgers, and they were his only two successes on seven short-yardage carries.
The positive moving forward is that Steven Jackson should be returning soon and hopefully can help reverse the Falcons' fortunes in this area. But it seems like it doesn't really matter who the running back is, the onus is on the Falcons offensive line. And that unit has been lacking.
Falcons Line Couldn't Handle Wilkerson
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Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson is an absolute beast. The Jets lined him up all over their front, and he made it his mission to defeat and embarrass every single one of the Falcons starting five up front.
Mission accomplished.
It's no secret that the Falcons offensive line isn't particularly good. The line's tackle play has been especially poor this year. And any hope that plugging Jeremy Trueblood into the lineup would change the Falcons' fortunes blew up in their face. Trueblood got destroyed by Wilkerson on a play that led to a sack-strip of Matt Ryan deep in Falcons territory, leading to a Jets field goal.
But Wilkerson not only embarrassed their lackluster tackles, he also beat up each of the interior players. Justin Blalock had his hands full throughout the night. Garrett Reynolds, arguably the team's best run blocker, got knocked back multiple times while giving up tackles for loss. And Peter Konz looked out of his element as a first-year starting center.
To a certain extent, the Falcons can use backs and tight ends to chip and help their tackles on the edges. But if they are giving up interior pressure, there really isn't much they can do to stop that. And that disrupts both the running game and Ryan's throwing lanes. They are going to face some good interior defensive players in the coming months and cannot afford this to become a trend if they want to start winning games.
Falcons Pass Rush Continues to Struggle
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On the opposite side of the ball, the Falcons defensive line is also in need of a kick in the pants.
People will look at the stat sheet and see that Geno Smith was sacked four times and think that he was under steady pressure. Well, this is an instance where stats lie.
The first sack came on a scramble where Smith was forced out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage. The next sack came at the outset of the third quarter when the Falcons blitzed, and Smith made a mistake with his recognition. Osi Umenyiora came free off the edge, and Smith failed to get rid of the ball in time to his hot read.
The Falcons do deserve credit for their next two sacks.
Corey Peters got a sack to push the Jets out of the red zone and force them to settle for a field goal. Two series later, Osi got another sack on a critical second down that helped force a stop. That gave the Falcons the ball back and led to their go-ahead drive at the end of the fourth quarter.
But prior to those instances, Smith had plenty of time to pick apart the Falcons defense and succeeded at it, leading the Jets on to scores on all three first-half drives. And of course at the end of the game, the Falcons couldn't generate much pressure to stop the Jets from driving for the game-winning field goal.
This lack of pass rush is a key reason why they are losing because they are playing a lot of young players in their back seven, and those young players are getting exposed too often because they aren't getting enough help from the guys up front.
Falcons Lost the Field-Position Battle
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Given the inconsistencies involving the Falcons offense and defense, something as simple as field position can be important in determining wins and losses for Atlanta.
Three of the Jets' drives started in Falcons territory, and those three drives led to 13 points. The Falcons got one drive that started at the 50-yard line, and that led to seven points.
Special teams is important in this regard. The Falcons had their first punt blocked on the evening, giving the Jets the ball at the Falcons 44-yard line, which led to a field goal. Then in the fourth quarter, they gave up a 24-yard punt return by Jeremy Kerley, which was coupled with a 15-yard penalty on Matt Bosher for a horse-collar tackle. That gave the Jets the ball at Atlanta's 23-yard line, and within four plays, they were in the end zone.
That doesn't count the sack-strip the Falcons gave up when backed up in their own territory. That gifted the Jets the ball at the 27-yard line, and mainly thanks to the sack by Peters, New York only wound up with three points.
If the Falcons are going to start winning games, these things will have to be cleaned up, and they cannot gift-wrap these easy drives and scores for their opponents.
Atlanta's Other Receivers Stepping Up
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Falcons backup tight end Levine Toilolo finished with a pair of catches for 15 yards, which may not look like much on the stat sheet, but it represents a potential bright spot for the Falcons offense.
One of those catches happened to be the touchdown that gave the Falcons a 28-27 lead late in the game. The other came on a 12-yard grab where Toilolo made a couple of tacklers miss to convert on a 2nd-and-11 in the third quarter. It was a nice bounce-back performance for Toilolo after dropping a huge pass in the end zone last week at the end of the game that could have changed Atlanta's fortunes against New England.
The Falcons also got a contribution from Kevin Cone, whose lone reception was a critical conversion on third down in the fourth quarter.
Opposing defenses have started to figure out the Falcons offense in recent weeks. They have been doubling Tony Gonzalez and bracketing Julio Jones, while trying to force the Falcons other receivers to beat them.
With Roddy White ailing and Harry Douglas contributing little, it's necessary that other receivers step up. A trio of catches for Toilolo and Cone isn't going to set the world on fire, but it does give Ryan and the coaching staff a little more confidence moving forward. And if that continues to build, eventually it can result in opponents having a harder time figuring out the Falcons offense.
Falcons Need More No-Huddle
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The bread and butter of the Falcons offensive attack over the years with Ryan under center has been their no-huddle offense.
But for whatever reason this season, they have seemed reluctant to dial it up as often as they have done in past seasons. Perhaps it's due to injuries putting less trustworthy players on the field.
Against the Jets, the Falcons didn't turn to the no-huddle until the fourth quarter. It worked since it helped them score a pair of touchdowns late to take the lead. Had the Falcons gone to the no-huddle earlier could it have changed the outcome of the game? Possibly, but we'll never know.
But it is clear that the Falcons offense is benefiting from it. Pushing the tempo and trying to get defenses off-balance could be critical for the team to getting out of this rut it finds itself in. If it leads to more scores, it takes much-needed pressure off the defense and can potentially compensate for the red-zone woes. Ryan is at his best in the no-huddle, and it would allow him to spread the ball around to more receivers and change how defenses attack the Falcons offense.
It just appears that more no-huddle will lead to better things for the Falcons after the bye week.
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