The Jets won their first preseason game of the year, defeating the Falcons 22-10 on Thursday night.
The Jets’ first-team offense proved once again that it is much improved from last season, even with a bunch of starters missing. Le’Veon Bell, Ryan Kalil, Kelechi Osemele and Brian Winters all did not play against the Falcons. Defensively, the Jets put the pressure on Matt Ryan and made him uncomfortable throughout the game. The Jets also got hit with some significant injuries as well.
With the being said, let’s take a look at the Jets’ studs and duds from their second preseason game.
Stud: Pass Rush
Gregg Williams dialed up some aggressive blitzes Thursday and it payed off in a big way.
The Jets were all over the Falcons’ quarterbacks. As a team, the Jets had five sacks in the game with Jamal Adams, Avery Williamson, Anthony Wint, Bronson Kaufusi and Brandon Copeland getting one each. The Jets also had 14 quarterback hits with three of them coming from Terrell Basham. New York also had eight tackles for a loss as well.
Williams and his defense are going to have to get creative with a suspect secondary. Bringing the heat to the quarterback is one way to make sure a cornerback doesn’t have to make a play.
Stud: Ty Montgomery
With Le’Veon Bell not quite ready for game action, Ty Montgomery got the start against the Falcons.
Montgomery was impressive out of the backfield with seven carries for 36 yards and a rushing touchdown. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry and did a good job of breaking tackles and finding the edge on the sideline.
Despite being the No. 2 back, Montgomery is going to play a big role running and catching the football and will be able to take some weight off of Le’Veon Bell’s shoulders.
Dud: Secondary
The Jets secondary continued to be a problem against the Falcons, but mainly the cornerbacks. Also, Arthur Maulet had an opportunity to step up but instead went down with an injury, adding to the long list of hampered cornerbacks.
As bad as Gang Green’s cornerbacks were, they were helped out by Falcons receivers dropping the ball left and right. Atlanta had multiple opportunities to score a touchdown, but their receivers dropped the ball in the end zone.
Dud: Elijah McGuire
Elijah McGuire’s job could be in jeopardy following his performance Thursday night.
McGuire had five carries for a total of 14 yards and was targeted once as a receiver. The Jets are probably going to carry three running backs with Bell and Montgomery occupying the top two spots. There isn’t much room for error and unless McGuire has a breakout performance in Week 3, he could find himself on the open market after the preseason.
Dud: Taylor Bertolet
Taylor Bertolet is clearly not the answer to the Jets’ kicking woes.
Bertolet was 1-3 on extra points, but did make a 49-yard field goal attempt. Bertolet was brought in after Chandler Catanzaro retired. However, his kicking in training camp hasn’t been great and this performance won’t help his case.
The Jets are going to have to bring in another veteran kicker to compete with Bertolet because the position is becoming a major problem.
Stud: Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold followed up his strong Week 1 performance with another solid effort in Week 2.
The second-year quarterback was 5-7 for 46 yards and also had three rushing yards. Darnold was playing behind three backup offensive linemen but did a great job of evading the rush. He doesn’t get alarmed when he has pass rushers in his face and finds a way to make the necessary throws.
Darnold will likely get one more start in Week 3 against the Saints before the start of the regular season.
