The second preseason game for the 2022 New York Jets was completed last night. It was a similar type of game compared to the first preseason game. After yet another discouraging start and first half in general, the Chris Streveler-led Jets defeated the Atlanta Falcons 24-16.
Very few Jets who are expected to play significant reps come Week 1 played in last night’s game. There are many position battles throughout the roster that were on display during the second game of the preseason.
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Top takeaways
Starting early in the game, all of the Jets’ top rookies did get some playing time. Garrett Wilson put together his second consecutive strong showing. He caught all three targets that came his way for 15 yards. On his second grab, Wilson showed a glimpse of what makes him so special. In 1-on-1 outside the numbers, Wilson located the football, quickly stopped, jumped, and showed his ability to attack the football in contested catch situations to reel it in and make one impressive snag.
While space running the football was bleak for Breece Hall, he showed some promising things as a pass blocker on two reps. On the first pickup, he showed sudden awareness against a blitz. Hall did a sound job getting in the way of the pursuing defender and showed physicality to finish. On the second good block, Hall showed a willingness to go low and timed up his cut block perfectly to slow down the rusher.
Sticking with the offense, this one was all Mike White and Chris Streveler under center. White finished 12-of-17 for 90 yards. It was not White’s finest night. His best work put together was the two-minute drive he led before the half, which resulted in three.
The Streveler excitement continued once again last night. He went 8-for-11 with 119 yards, a touchdown, interception, and 33 rushing yards. Once again, he showed some moxie and gave the offense life. He shows a confidence in his arm, can extend, and ultimately make plays with his legs. Streveler helped himself yet again last night.
A few noteworthy skill position players who did well for themselves last night were La’Mical Perine, Denzel Mims, Tarik Black, and Lawrence Cager. Perine ran in one touchdown that he bounced to the outside and showed good explosiveness on. Mims caught three of his four targets for 43 yards. Black has recently been getting some reps with the second team in practice. It showed up last night as he caught all four of his targets for 47 yards before leaving with an unfortunate injury. Cager once again showed his speed in space. He caught three of four targets for 65 yards with a 34-yard touchdown.
First half struggles for the defense again
The Jets’ defense once again had its struggles in the early going last night. They allowed 16 first-half points. Big plays were given up. They struggled to stop the pass throughout. Combined, Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder went 16-for-23 for 275 yards, and a touchdown was thrown by Mariota.
Come the second half, it was a different story for the Jets’ defense. Up front, roster hopefuls Bradlee Anae and Jonathan Marshall certainly helped themselves. Anae, who has quietly contributed in camp, had a sack-fumble that he recovered and ran in for a touchdown. Marshall had five total tackles with two tackles for loss, one of which was a sack. He made two plays in a row to stall one drive.
While the first half was less than ideal for the Jets, to finish as well as they did was good to see. Now, they prepare for a week with the New York Giants in, which they will treat like a regular season game.