EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It was a rainy night in New Jersey. Seem like it was raining all over the world.
With the offense chugging along on the wet surface, the Falcons’ defense came up with some key stops to help defeat the Jets 13-8 on Sunday on a rain-soaked field at MetLife Stadium.
The defense came up with a late fumble and turnover over on downs to preserve the one-score lead in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons improved to 6-6, while the Jets dropped to 4-8. The Saints lost to the Lions (33-28) and dropped them to 5-7. The first-place Falcons have a full game lead over the Saints with five games to play.
“You want to score 100 points,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “You want to score every drive. That’s a good defense. They threw everything they had at us. There are lot of things going on. On the positive side, when we needed to make some plays, we did.”
Veteran quarterback Trevor Siemian came on in the fourth quarter for the Jets, but he had a key turnover.
If you like punting, this was the game for you.
There were 16 punts for 772 yards.
“We didn’t want Bradley (Pinion) to have to play that much, but you have to find a way to win and thankfully, we did,” Smith said.
Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder was 12 of 27 for 121 yards. He a touchdown pass and finished with a passer rating of 70.1. Tim Boyle started for the Jets and completed 14 of 25 passes for 148 yards and an interception. He had a passer rating of 56.8.
Siemian, a veteran who started one game last season for the Bears, was 5 of 13 for 66 yards, a key fumble and a 55.3 passer rating.
The Falcons amassed just 194 yards, their second-lowest output of the season. They had 183 yards in a 20-6 loss to Detroit on Sept. 24.
“To push the ball down the field, we have to be able to run the ball, get first downs,” Ridder said. “We have to be able to get points.”
The Jets locked in on the Falcons’ rushing attack and held them to 90 yards on 34 carries for just a 2.6 yards per carry average.
The Falcon also fumbled three times, but recovered two and Cordarrelle Patterson swatted his fumble out of bounds.
“We prepared all week for rain and then starting off on the first play, it got narrowed down to me a Drew (Dalman),” Ridder said. “You’ve got to get the ball out.... Just all of us, we have to better with ball security when you know it’s going to be a crappy day when weather comes. "
The Falcons capitalized on a turnover and one of the many Jets’ penalties to help create a short field and build at 10-5 halftime lead.
The punters – Bradley Pinion and Thomas Morstead -- were the stars of the game in the sloppy field conditions. Both offenses struggled to move the ball as the Jets turned to Siemian in the fourth quarter in place of Boyle.
After two punts by Pinion and on Morstead’s second punt, the Falcons were pinned back at their 2-yard line.
After a quarterback sneak that picked up a yard, the Falcons tried to run wide, but running back Bijan Robinson was dropped in the endzone by Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and safety Ashtyn Davis.
Williams got penetration on Falcons center Drew Dalman and Davis ran over TE Parker Hesse and put him on the ground. Williams and Davis were credited with the tackles on the safety, which put the Jets up 2-0.
After another punt by Pinion, Jets running back Dalvin Cook fumbled and it was recovered by nickel back Dee Alford. The Falcons had the ball at the Jets’ 47-yard line. On the sixth play of the drive, Ridder tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end MyCole Pruitt. The extra point made it 7-2.
“It was a low scoring game,” Smith said. “That one (pass) to Pru was as good of a catch as I’ve seen in a while. They were flooded over to Kyle and Desmond made a heck of a throw.”
The Jets went on the move with a 36-yard pass play to Xavier Gipson with cornerback Jeff Okudah in coverage. The drive stalled and the Jets’ Greg Zuerlein capped the 12-play, 66-yard drive with a 27-yard field goal to make it 7-5.
After an exchange of punts, the Falcons were at the Jets’ 44 after an illegal use of the helmet on Chazz Surratt. He hit Alford during his punt return.
The Falcons, with the help of two more Jets’ penalties, moved down to the 4-yard line. Passes to Drake London and Jonnu Smith in the end zone were incomplete and the Falcons had to settle for a 22-yard field goal at the buzzer.
The safety was the first by the Falcons since the 2014 season when Matt Ryan was sacked by Terrell Suggs in the endzone in Baltimore. The Ravens won 29-7 on Oct. 19, 2014.
Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell left the game with a concussion in the second quarter. He was replaced by rookie cornerback Clark Phillips III. Right tackle Kaleb McGary suffered a knee injury and was replaced by Storm Norton.
Also, linebacker Nate Landman suffered a left knee injury and did not return. Andre Smith replaced Landman.
On the key Cook fumble, Landman was credited with the forced fumble. Phillips was also in on the tackle.
The Jets added a 46-yard field goal by Zuerlein on their first possession of the third quarter to make it 10-8.
The Falcons went on the move, but their drive stalled on the Jets’ 25 as the rain started to pick up. Koo made a 42-yard field goal to make it 13-8. The kick completed a 14-play, 51-yard that took 6:54 off the clock.
After an exchange of punts, Jessie Bates III intercepted Boyle with 26 seconds in the third quarter. But both offenses continued to struggle.
The Jets got the ball with 5:23 left and Siemian drove them to the Falcons’ 48. The Falcons challenged a play that was ruled an incomplete pass by Siemian. The ball was knocked loose and recovered by the Falcons it was determined after review.
“As far as the communication, you have got to have the calm upstairs because there is commotion on the sidelines,” Arthur Smith said. “You know what you see live. ….You get another look upstairs. You ask. You get it confirmed.
“Hey, it’s worth it. I thought the situation and the way the game was being played, I thought why not. I thought it was too big of a moment in the game. I was pretty sure what I saw and it was obviously confirmed upstairs.”
The fumble was forced by Richie Grant and recovered by Andre Smith.
The Falcons had the ball back with 2:47 left, but couldn’t run out the clock.
The defense forced a turnover on downs to essentially end the game. For the second game in a row, the defense did not allow any touchdowns.
“Hats off to (defensive coordinator) Ryan (Nielsen),” outside linebacker Bud Dupree said. “He’s dialing it up.”
The Falcons respected Siemian, who was a starter earlier in his career.
“They just needed a new spark and they thought he was going to give it to them,” Dupree said. “He did make a couple of plays, but we made more on our side.”
The Falcons are set to host Tampa Bay at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
