Falcons’ report card: Low marks for clunker against Jets
EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. — Falcons coach Raheem Morris is seeing this season slip away before his very eyes.
A team that he didn’t have any problem mentioning being a “playoff team” after a win over Buffalo has dropped six of their last seven games. After a 27-24 loss to the Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, their playoffs hopes are on life support.
“We had a couple chances to win on offense,” Morris said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win on defense. We were able to go out there and move the ball pretty effectively today. We didn’t do as well as you want to do in the first half, particularly on third downs.”
When it was time to win the game, the Falcons came up short.
“We needed to make some critical plays at the end there to give ourselves a chance to win it,” Morris said. “Defense played well enough to go out there and give yourself a chance to win. Had some critical stops.”
But they couldn’t close out the game and cover up the miscues on offense and on special teams.
“Gave up a big play, an explosive that you do not want to give up,” Morris said of the 52-yard touchdown when cornerback Mike Hughes fell down. “A couple of scramble third downs in the fourth quarter that hurt. We gave ourselves a chance on offense and defense.”
There was also the long kickoff return that led to a field goal and a muffed punt that led to a touchdown.
“Nothing in this game is luck,” Morris said. “We felt that they made the plays and we didn’t.”
Here are the grades the Falcons earned in the loss to the Jets:
Quarterback
With the game on the line, Kirk Cousins didn’t come through. In the final two drives, he was 1-of-5 for 5 yards when the Falcons needed to drive down for a score. He completed 21-of-33 passes for 234 yards for a touchdown and finished with passer rating of 94.8. He moved the ball around to seven receivers. “In pro football, you just always know it’s always going to come down to the final drive,” Cousins said. “It’s a dog fight every week. You just never know which way it’s going to break.” Grade: C-plus
Running back
Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier were fantastic. They combined to rush for 162 yards on 31 carries, and each had a touchdown run. Robinson caught five passes for 51 yards. Allgeier caught two passes for 35 yards, including a 31-yard swing pass that set up the final touchdown. Grade: A
Wide receivers/tight ends
David Sills V had a touchdown catch to go with a couple of drops. Darnell Mooney caught 2 of 5 targets for 25 yards and was a nonfactor. Pitts was Cousins’ favorite target. He caught 7 of 8 passes for 82 yards. The speedy Deven Thompkins was promoted from the practice squad and caught both of his targets for 23 yards and had a rush for 5 yards. Grade: C
Offensive line
The offensive line paved the way for the rushing attack. Cousins was sacked twice and hit seven times. They have to share some of the blame for the porous third down play. “We are definitely frustrated that we moved the ball really well,” left tackle Jake Matthews said. “Just didn’t put enough points to win. Just want to win. It’s not a good feeling.” The line was not proud of the two drives in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, either. “Definitely, we have a lot of confidence with the way we were running the ball and with a lot of the stuff we were doing,” Matthews said. “We still had a chance at the end to win it but didn’t get it done. We just have to keep fighting.” Grade: C-plus
Defensive line
LaCale London and David Onyemata helped to stop the run. London had two tackles and Onyemata had four. They were key to stopping the run, but let out too much yardage in the Jets’ 15-play drive with the game on the line. Grade: D
Linebackers
Kaden Elliss and Divine Deablo led the team in tackles with eight each. Outside linebackers James Pearce Jr. and Leonard Floyd each had a sack. “Every game is close,” Elliss said. “The ability to finish out those close games is really what separates. Everybody has got good players. Everybody has got good schemes. Everybody will have one or two blowouts either way. What do you do in those close games? This year, it just hasn’t gone our way just yet. We haven’t made it go our way just yet. We’ve got to keep fighting.” Grade: C
Secondary
Cornerback Mike Hughes said he got tripped up on the 52-yard touchdown pass to Adonai Mitchell, who played part of his college career at Georgia. Mitchell finished with eight catches for 102 yards. A.J. Terrell had a defensive pass interference. Jessie Bates III, one of the team captains, was one of the first players out of the locker room as the season is unraveling. Grade: D
Special teams
Why was returner Jamal Agnew trying to fair catch a punt inside of the 10-yard line anyway? Well, he muffed it and Jets special teamer Qwan’tez Stiggers, an Atlanta native, recovered at the 2-yard line to set up a 2-yard TD run by Breece Hall. After taking a 17-14 lead, the Falcons promptly gave up an 83-yard kickoff return to Isaiah Williams. Natrone Brooks saved a TD. Grade: F
Coaching
The Falcons need a better plan on third down on offense. They were 1-of-5 in the first half and finished 4-of-12 for the game. They have not converted over 50% in a game all season. They have not been over 45.5% since the San Francisco game. This was the sixth straight game that they were under 40%. Back in the Dan Quinn days, the Falcons had defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich call first and second downs and Morris call third downs in two-minute situations. The Falcons need to try something different on third downs. Candidates include T.J. Yates, D.J. Williams and maybe even let Cousins call his own plays on third downs. Specials teams weren’t very special. The defense started out well, but couldn’t close out the game. Grade: F
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
