Falcons’ report card: Low marks for clunker against Jets

When it was time to win the game, the Falcons came up short.

“We needed to make some critical plays at the end there to give ourselves a chance to win it,” Morris said. “Defense played well enough to go out there and give yourself a chance to win. Had some critical stops.”

But they couldn’t close out the game and cover up the miscues on offense and on special teams.

“Gave up a big play, an explosive that you do not want to give up,” Morris said of the 52-yard touchdown when cornerback Mike Hughes fell down. “A couple of scramble third downs in the fourth quarter that hurt. We gave ourselves a chance on offense and defense.”

There also was the long kickoff return that led to a Jets field goal and a muffed punt that led to a Jets touchdown.

“Nothing in this game is luck,” Morris said. “We felt that they made the plays and we didn’t.”

Here are the grades the Falcons earned in the loss to the Jets:

Quarterback

With the game on the line, Kirk Cousins didn’t come through. In the final two drives, he was 1-of-5 passing for 5 yards when the Falcons needed to drive down for a score. He completed 21 of 33 passes for 234 yards for a touchdown and finished with passer rating of 94.8. He moved the ball around to seven receivers. “In pro football, you just always know it’s always going to come down to the final drive,” Cousins said. “It’s a dogfight every week. You just never know which way it’s going to break.” Grade: C-plus

Running back

Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier were fantastic. They combined to rush for 162 yards on 31 carries, and each had a touchdown run. Robinson caught five passes for 51 yards. Allgeier caught two passes for 35 yards, including a 31-yard swing pass that set up the final touchdown. Grade: A

Wide receivers/tight ends

David Sills V had a touchdown catch to go with a couple of drops. Darnell Mooney caught 2 of 5 targets for 25 yards and was a nonfactor. Pitts was Cousins’ favorite target. He caught 7 of 8 passes for 82 yards. The speedy Deven Thompkins was promoted from the practice squad and caught both of his targets for 23 yards and had a rush for 5 yards. Grade: C

Offensive line

The offensive line paved the way for the rushing attack. Cousins was sacked twice and hit seven times. They have to share some of the blame for the porous third-down play. “We are definitely frustrated that we moved the ball really well,” left tackle Jake Matthews said. “Just didn’t put enough points to win. Just want to win. It’s not a good feeling.” The line was not proud of the two drives in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, either. “Definitely, we have a lot of confidence with the way we were running the ball and with a lot of the stuff we were doing,” Matthews said. “We still had a chance at the end to win it, but didn’t get it done. We just have to keep fighting.” Grade: C-plus

Defensive line

LaCale London and David Onyemata helped stop the run. London had two tackles and Onyemata had four. They were key to stopping the run, but gave up too much yardage in the Jets’ 15-play drive with the game on the line. Grade: D

Linebackers

Kaden Elliss and Divine Deablo led the team in tackles with eight each. Outside linebackers James Pearce Jr. and Leonard Floyd each had a sack. “Every game is close,” Elliss said. “The ability to finish out those close games is really what separates. Everybody has got good players. Everybody has got good schemes. Everybody will have one or two blowouts either way. What do you do in those close games? This year, it just hasn’t gone our way just yet. We haven’t made it go our way just yet. We’ve got to keep fighting.” Grade: C

Secondary

Cornerback Mike Hughes said he got tripped on the 52-yard touchdown pass to Adonai Mitchell, who played part of his college career at Georgia. Mitchell finished with eight catches for 102 yards. A.J. Terrell was called for a defensive pass interference. Jessie Bates III, one of the team captains, was one of the first players out of the locker room as the season is unraveling. Grade: D

Special teams

Why was returner Jamal Agnew trying to fair catch a punt inside of the 10-yard line anyway? Well, he muffed it, and Jets special teamer Qwan’tez Stiggers, an Atlanta native, recovered at the 2-yard line to set up a 2-yard TD run by Breece Hall. After taking a 17-14 lead, the Falcons promptly gave up an 83-yard kickoff return to Isaiah Williams. Natrone Brooks saved a TD. Grade: F

Coaching

The Falcons need a better plan on third down on offense. They were 1-of-5 in the first half and finished 4-of-12 for the game. They have not converted over 50% in a game all season. They have not been over 45.5% since the San Francisco game. This was the sixth consecutive game that they were under 40%. In the coach Dan Quinn days, the Falcons had defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich call first and second downs and Morris call third downs in two-minute situations. The Falcons need to try something different on third downs. Candidates to make call include T.J. Yates and D.J. Williams — or maybe even let Cousins call his own plays on third downs. Special teams weren’t very special. The defense started out well, but couldn’t close out the game. Grade: F