After a loss to the Giants to open the preseason, the Jets rallied to down the Falcons in Week 2, giving Adam Gase his first win as the team’s head coach.
Between a pick-six, several quarterback pressures and an opening scoring drive, the Jets were able to overcome injuries and kicking woes to improve to 1-1 in the preseason.
As is oftentimes the case with the preseason, other elements of the game stand out more than the final score. What’s more captivating than anything else are some of the numbers that popped up in the box score.
With that being said, here are four strange stats from the Jets’ first preseason win.
Two missed extra points
For the second consecutive game, the Jets’ starting kicker missed two extra-point attempts.
Chandler Catanzaro missed two against the Giants and Taylor Bertolet followed suit against the Falcons. New York signed Bertolet following Catanzaro’s surprise retirement in the hopes that he would come in and solidify the position, but that was not the case.
With Bertolet’s struggles, the Jets will likely bring in a kicker or two to compete for the job as soon as this week.
14 Quarterback Hits
The Jets saw extensive injuries to their defensive unit on Thursday night, but they got a great performance out of their defensive line nonetheless.
Unusual for a preseason game, the always aggressive Gregg Williams sent out a heavy dosage of blitz packages. Out of Atlanta’s 48 pass plays, Williams sent more than four rushers on 18 plays. The Jets’ defense finished with 17 pressures, 14 quarterback hits and five sacks.
Back-to-Back opening drive Touchdowns
The Jets’ starting offense scored touchdowns on back-to-back opening drives to begin the preseason.
Operating almost exclusively in a no-huddle offense, Sam Darnold and company were able to execute two touchdowns drives using a simplistic game plan and a usage of only 11 personnel.
In limited circumstances, New York’s second-year quarterback was able to take advantage of his opportunities. A high-tempo offense and good rhythm have resulted in two scores. If this is a sign of things to come, New York may want to elect to receive any chance they get.
21 snaps, zero tackles
Even though Quinnen Williams was able to make his presence felt by getting a hit on quarterback Matt Schaub, drawing a holding penalty and forcing Matt Ryan into an errant throw, he has still failed to show up on the stat sheet.
Fair criticism or not, Williams played 21 snaps and recorded zero tackles. The rookie has had an underwhelming preseason thus far on the stat sheet, but he has still made his presence felt in other facets of the game.
