New York Jets: Grades and Analysis Against the Atlanta Falcons

The New York Jets come out of Atlanta with their first win of the preseason, and they showed a lot of promise across the board. Here is my analysis of the game and some team grades.

Sam Darnold is looking good

Sam Darnold is looking like the real deal. After completing 5 out of 7 passes for 46 yards, the Jets signal-caller looks like he has total command of the offense. Darnold showed grace under pressure by keeping himself composed while evading defenders in the pocket. Darnold also showed his ability to perfectly place the ball by throwing behind Robby Anderson on a go route and almost completing a beautiful dime on the move to Quincy Enunwa in the endzone.

If Darnold continues to show this kind of quality, then Jets will finally have the franchise QB they’ve been looking for, for the past 50 years.

Front seven is deadly

The New York Jets front seven has been dominant allowing 124 rushing yards combined in the first two preseason games. This unit has the potential to be good with C.J. Mosely operating the ship. Henry Anderson was lights out, putting a lot of pressure on Matt Ryan. Quinnen Williams was also showing up tonight being a disruptive force down the middle, specifically on third down.

The New York Jets have something special going on in the front seven. It’ll be up to the secondary to complete the defense and make it a top unit.

Secondary getting torched

The Jets secondary, specifically their cornerbacks, are getting manhandled every down. The secondary couldn’t stop a person with paraplegia if there were one on the field. To make matters worse, the football gods handed out their weekly slap to the face to Jet fans by injuring some of the no names in the already thin secondary. The Jets secondary situation is in DEFCON 1; Joe Douglas needs to make a move now if not, the results could be disastrous.

Still, don’t have a kicker

Taylor Bertolet is the only kicker on the Jets roster right now, and the Jets should seriously consider adding some competition. Bertolet wasn’t awful, but he also wasn’t that good. Bertolet had a rocky start after missing an extra point to start the game but redeemed himself by hitting a 49-yard field goal. Bertolet did have a small sample size tonight and should be given another shot, but I don’t think any Jet fan is comfortable with him being the only kicker on the roster.

Offensive Grade: B

The offense tonight was good all around no matter who was on the field. The biggest issue was the fact that O-line looked inconsistent throughout the whole game. Another issue I had was that the running game was nonexistent after Ty Montgomery left the field. Other than those two problems, I think they looked solid.

Defensive Grade: B-

This grade is most reflective on the front seven; however, as the game progressed, the secondary did look a little better. The New York Jets still have work to do on the defensive side of the ball, but tonight they looked alright.

Special Teams Grade: B

The only reason this grade isn’t an A or an A- is because of the missed extra points by Bertolet. Other than Bertolet’s mistakes, they were average group tonight.

Overall Grade: B