For the second week in a row, The Jets have collapsed in the second half of both games. One was against New England after going up 14-0 in the first half and of course last week against the Dolphins where they lead by 14 going into the fourth quarter. This week they will be going up against the Atlanta Falcons who still doesn’t know their idenity offensively. Regardless this is still a team that is very dangerous and can go off at any given time if given the opportunity. The Jets can’t afford to lose three straight games especially if they are up, here are the keys to success for the green and white.
Offensively, they have been getting off to a great start and scoring on their first drive in back to back games. I expect them to continue that intensity and putting the Falcons in a tough spot early on. The green and white need to also develop their run game and control the time of possession because this is a Falcons team who can score at any given, and also winning the turnover battle, last week McCown only threw one interception but it came at a terrible time. On the defense, the Jets can’t give up the big play, They have given up 20 plays that came from 25+ yards on the pass and 6 plus runs for 25+ yards this season. Throughout this season, Julio Jones had one game with 100 plus yards and caught his only touchdown last week against New England. What is absurd about this is that the Falcons have only targeted him in the red zone 5 times. I expect the Falcons to look for him this week as he is going up against Morris Claiborne who said this week that he is looking forward to this challenge. Well let’s hope that he can live up to the challenge, otherwise it will be a very long game. I will say that he has been phenomenal this season.
The X-factor of this game is going to be Josh McCown who is having a Jekyl and Hyde type of season. He looks good in the beginning but it’s the fourth quarter where he seems to struggle as he has given away the ball 6 times this season in the fourth quarter (most in the NFL).