FLOWERY BRANCH – After Washington’s Taylor Heinicke ran around Mercedes-Benz Stadium and heaved up some prayerful passes to beat the Falcons on Sunday, they’ll face a similar challenge from Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson.
The Falcons (1-3) play the Jets (1-3) at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
When Wilson, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft in April, leaves the pocket, he’s much more dangerous than Heinicke because of his arm strength. The Falcons’ defensive backs and linebackers must do a much better job of staying with their receivers when in man-to-man coverage and be more aware of players flowing into and out of their zones.
“For the third week in a row we’ve got a quarterback that can run,” Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. “The guy’s a good athlete. Guy has a really, really strong arm. He really makes plays out of the pocket very, very well. That makes things difficult in the rush. When he gets out of the pocket, he’s extremely dangerous.”
Wilson, like the NFL’s other touted rookie quarterbacks, is off to a shaky start. He has thrown eight interceptions and has a lowly passer rating of 62.8.
However, he’s coming off of leading the Jets to a stunning 27-24 overtime victory over Tennessee, in which he hit on two laser shots for touchdowns while on the run.
Credit: Seth Wenig
Credit: Seth Wenig
“(Just) ask Tennessee,” Pees said. “They gave up some big plays to him when he was out of the pocket, and that’s a problem. You’ve got to not let him get out there very often, or you got to at least keep pressure on him when he is out of there.”
Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell, who’ll cover either Jets receiver Corey Davis or Jamison Crowder, is aware of the plays Wilson made against the Titans.
“We know that he likes to use his legs,” Terrell said. “Just playing all the way until the whistle, just not getting careless with your eyes and staying with your man.”
Davis, who’s the Jets’ top receiver, with 16 catches for 257 yards, got behind Tennessee’s defense for a 53-yard touchdown. Jamison, who returned from a groin injury, caught seven passes for 61 yards and a touchdown against the Titans.
“A good quarterback, young guy,” Terrell said of Wilson. “He likes to make plays, so definitely he is going to extend plays. We just have to stay alert and stay on our guy.”
Heinicke extended two plays that resulted in touchdowns in the Falcons’ 34-30 loss.
He heaved a 17-yard duck of pass that was hauled in by wide receiver Terry McLaurin for a touchdown. Pees explained what happened on the play with cornerback T.J. Green in coverage.
“He had a tough break on the one where the guy just threw the dadgum ball up and the guy catches it in the end zone,” Pees said. “He just lost the ball. He actually fell down. When he tried to get up and go get the guy, he tried to just go man the guy and didn’t look for the ball.”
Pees had seen players scramble like that before.
“When you fall down, you’re in a panic state and you’ve got to get the guy that you’re covering in man coverage,” Pees said. “That’s what he did. He lost track of the ball, and the guy caught it.”
Green played well in a start in place of Terrell against the Giants a week earlier and was the team’s fourth cornerback before the season-ending injury to Isaiah Oliver.
Credit: Curtis Compton / curtis.compton@ajc.com
Credit: Curtis Compton / curtis.compton@ajc.com
“I was really pleased with him after the New York game,” Pees said. “He got thrown into a situation there with A.J. out. I thought he played really well. You just have to keep playing. He’s doing OK.”
Green has shaken off the McLaurin touchdown.
“That play does not define T.J. at all,” Pees said. “It happened. I’ve seen it happen to All-Pro guys. It happens, but that doesn’t define how he’s been playing. He’s been progressing very good.”
Washington scored on another bizarre play with 33 seconds left, when Heinicke heaved the ball across the field to running back J.D. McKissic, who scored from 30 yards out. Linebacker Deion Jones missed a tackle on the play.
“We got the quarterback under duress, and he throws over to the back, who’s not even in the route,” Pees said. “He’s just standing there.”
Jones was attracted to the action and couldn’t get back to McKissic.
“We kind of take our eyes off of what we have to do and go do something else,” Pees said. “It didn’t have anything to do with being comfortable in the scheme because the scheme didn’t call for that. ...
“It wasn’t anything malicious in any way, I’m going to do something else. It was more like, I see the quarterback scrambling, and we don’t stay at home over there where we need to stay so he can’t throw that pass or if he throws it back there, we knock it down or we pick it off.”
The Falcons will need to stay at home and close to the Jets’ receivers when going against Wilson.
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Falcons’ 2021 schedule features trip to London, January trip to Buffalo
Atlanta Falcons Schedule
Washington FT 34, Falcons 30
New York Jets vs. Falcons in London, Oct. 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Bye Week
Falcons at Miami Dolphins, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
