Darnold & D Look Sharp As Jets Win Ugly in the ATL

JETS 22 
FALCONS 10 

It wasn't pretty, but the Jets got their first win of the preseason 22-10 over the Atlanta Falcons, Thursday night, as Sam Darnold once again shined in his brief stint in the opening quarter.

Lets recap:

For the second straight week Darnold and the first team looked really sharp on its first series. New York dominated the line of scrimmage as Darnold picked apart the Falcons on an efficient eight-play 66-yard scoring drive for the games opening score. Darnold was 3-for-4 on the drive, including completions of 15-yards to Quincy Enunwa and 21-yards to Robby Anderson.

Ty Montgomery, getting the start at tail back for a resting Le'Veon Bell, carved up the Falcons for a 14-yard gain to the Atlanta 12-yard line. Two plays later, Montgomery gained six more to the Falcons six, before Darnold hit Anderson for five yards to the one-yard line. Montgomery capped off the drive with a one-yard scamper to give the Jets a 6-0 lead.

After that drive New York's offense really went into a collective shell. The offensive line which has been major problem for this team since the off-season reared its ugly head as Darnold was under siege on the next two drives, both of which resulted in punts. The fact that Kelechi Osemele and Brian Winters didn't start this game really stood out.

Kicking problems persist: The Jets have a real problem at kicker. A week after Chandler Cantazaro retired after missing two extra points against the Giants, his replacement Taylor Bertolet was no better, missing a pair of extra points.

No doubt General Manager Joe Douglas is going to be on the phone again, looking for a kicker. This team needs help badly at this position. They can't go into the regular season with Bertolet.

Defense: Kind of a mixed bag, especially early on. The secondary got torched, but the front seven looked amazing. Jamal Adams had a sack of Matt Ryan. The various blitzes Gregg Williams sent after the Falcons, had Ryan guessing all night, as he couldn't get the Atlanta offense moving.

Matt Schuab however had a little more success, guiding the Falcons on an 80-yard, 11 play-scoring drive as the Falcons took a 10-6 lead into the half.

Give the Jets credit; in the second half the defense came out with its ears pinned back and played much better football. They held the Falcons to only 125 yards of offense and forced three turnovers, including a pick-six by James Burgess that put a bow on this one by the score of 22-10.

Back-up Quarterback competition: No question Trevor Siemian is going to be Darnold's back-up, but the competition for the third quarterback spot continues to get interesting. Davis Webb has done very little in two preseason games to distinguish himself. Luke Falk, however, has been very good. He was 4-for-4 for 41-yards and a touchdown, Thursday. Falk has now led two scoring drives in two preseason games. There is a chance he could beat Webb out.

Next: The Jets host the New Orleans Saints next Saturday, August 24. This will be the dress rehearsal, so Gang Green has to answer a number of questions about its special teams, secondary depth, offensive line depth, and depth at linebacker. Two preseason games in there are still some serious questions in these spots.