The Atlanta Falcons, fresh off of a major divisional home victory against the New Orleans Saints for first place, are headed to the Meadowlands to take on the New York Jets in MetLife stadium. A game that was originally billed as an uphill battle against the Jets shut down defense and their newly acquired quarterback, future gold jacket owner Aaron Rodgers in the bitter cold of December, has changed a bit since then. Instead, Aaron Rodgers is still recovering from an achilles injury he suffered in week one and won’t be a factor in this match up as Tim Boyle will make his second start of the season.
Though Boyle had an awful game in Sunday’s loss, completing 27 of 38 passes for 179 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, Desmond Ridder didn’t fare much better on the stats sheet, going 13-21 for 168 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions despite the victory. The difference between the two is Ridder’s growing confidence as a starting quarterback. Even with his issues this season, he was more poised and efficient, taking 17 less throws to produce the same stat line, plus the win. Ridder will continue his journey as a starter with a tough challenge ahead, the New York Jets defense. Meanwhile, the #15 total ranked defense has the chance to shut the Jets offense down by stopping the run.
The Jets are ranked 31st in stopping the run, and even after running over the Saints Sunday, They still have to prove they can be a balanced team and pass the ball to keep them honest on defense. That will be difficult to do against the #6 pass defense. The Jets offense will be in a similar situation against the #10 pass defense which has the ability to turn into sacks and turnovers. The Falcons may have an advantage on third down, as the Falcons defense is ranked 5th, this seems to be a weak spot for the Jets, ranked 26th.
