Another slow start sent the Jets into their bye week on a sour note.
Gang Green dropped to 1-4 on the season when they fell to the Atlanta Falcons, 27-20, Sunday in the NFL’s return to London.
Zach Wilson struggled getting the offense on track for the Jets. The rookie quarterback finished 19 of 32 for 192 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.
On the other side, veteran Matt Ryan picked apart the Jets defense in the first half. Ryan threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns.
Furthermore, rookie tight end Kyle Pitts showed a national audience why Atlanta took him two spots after Wilson at No. 4 overall in the NFL Draft in April. Pitts gave the Jets mismatch problems all game, he hauled in nine receptions for 119 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
New York battled back in the second half with rushing touchdowns from Ty Johnson and Michael Carter. The defense responded with a handful of plays but eventually were unable to keep Atlanta from pulling away late in the fourth quarter.
For the Jets, it’s back to the drawing board
The team has a long return flight home; with a Week 6 bye, they’ll have plenty time to think about what went wrong.
Where they can start is the offense getting off to slow starts.
Last week, in their win over Tennessee, the defense was on the field for 93 plays. Yes, the result was a victory – however, that’s problematic when developing a rookie quarterback on the fly.
Bringing it back to this week, the Wilson and the offense went three and out on their first two possessions of the game. Atlanta, meanwhile, jumped out to a 10-0 lead with drives for 14-plays and 10-plays, respectively.
Before the Jets could figure anything out, they were already down 17-0.
Five weeks into the season, the Jets have been outscored in the first half, 75-13. They have yet to score a touchdown in the first quarter.
The defense took a step backwards this week after a strong showing against Tennessee. But the offense must do a better job of staying on the field long enough to give their guys a blow.
Either way its sliced, head coach Robert Saleh and his staff will have time to reset and prep their team for the second half of the season.
