Tag: 2021 NFL London Games

USA TODAY NFL Power Rankings: Jets stand pat despite loss in London

Where do the Jets stand in USA TODAY’s NFL Power Rankings with Week 5 in the books?

The Jets climbed out of the basement in last week’s USA TODAY NFL Power Rankings with a win over the Titans, but they seemed destined to take a tumble back to the cellar — or at least close to it — after losing to the Falcons in Week 5.

As it turns out, New York’s trip to London was not as detrimental as it originally seemed from a power rankings perspective. The Jets are still 29th and ahead of the Lions, Giants and Jaguars after their 27-20 loss to Atlanta.

Zach Wilson and company once again started slowly before turning it on in the second half. The Jets trailed by just one score late in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons sealed the game with a Mike Davis rushing touchdown, handing Gang Green its fourth loss of the season ahead of its bye week.

New York is still the lowest-ranked AFC East team, but the Dolphins are giving them a run for their money. Miami dropped to 27th after getting blown out by the Buccaneers. The Patriots fell from 21st to 26th due to their lackluster performance in a win over the lowly Texans. The Bills were the lone riser in the division, jumping from sixth to fifth after dominating the Chiefs on the road.

The Cardinals, Rams, Buccaneers and Cowboys round out the top five along with Buffalo. Arizona squeaked past the 49ers to remain undefeated, the Rams defeated the Seahawks sans Russell Wilson for half the game on Thursday Night Football, and the Buccaneers and Cowboys cruised to wins.

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Robert Saleh and Zach Wilson want to get to the bottom of the Jets’ slow starts

Robert Saleh and Zach Wilson will take the bye week to figure out why the Jets have 13 first-half points compared to 51 second-half points.

Second-half comebacks have become someone of a calling card for the 2021 Jets and Robert Saleh wants to figure out why it keeps happening.

“We gotta start faster,” Saleh said Sunday after the game. “I’m putting that on me to try to figure this out over the next week.”

The Jets have tallied just 13 points in the first half this season compared to 51 second-half points. It’s a major reason why they’re 1-4, too. New York has lost two of its four games by a touchdown (Week 1 vs. the Panthers and Week 5 vs. the Falcons) and needed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Titans in Week 4.

Gang Green’s early struggles are in a league of their own. They’re the first team since the 2015 49ers to score seven or fewer points in the first half of the first five games of their season. The 2007 Bengals accomplished this feat as well.

Zach Wilson is one of the biggest reasons for the Jets’ failure to launch. He’s completed 30-63 passing attempts for 330 yards, no touchdowns and six interceptions in the first half. In the second half, Wilson’s gone 64-101 for 740 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. While he orchestrated the Jets’ two second-half scoring drives, he did not throw a single touchdown.

“We gotta figure it out over this bye week how to fix that,” Wilson said postgame. I gotta play better at the start as well.”

Wilson refused to blame it on preparation, talent or coaching, either. The Jets’ second-half stats reflect the talent and coaching concerns for sure, but Wilson wants the Jets to shake the comeback mentality and focus on playing better for an entire 60 minute-game.

“It’s interesting in the second half, every single game, we’ve looked really good,” he added. “We know what we’re capable of and we’re able to show it there at the end but I think we just got to get a good rhythm going, some flow – something. Starting three-and-out isn’t the way to do it.”

The Jets will have a long flight home and a week off to fix their issues, but it may not be as simple as Saleh and Wilson hope. It’s likely not one problem that requires a resolution like preparation or execution or game scripts. A combination of everything needs to be reworked if the Jets are to succeed early in games.

Whatever the Jets do though, they need to solve their first-half woes to be competitive this season.

“We can’t keep trying to come from behind,” Wilson said. “The NFL is too hard to always come from behind.”

The best photos from the Jets’ trip to London

NFL fans flocked to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to watch the Jets play the Falcons. See the best photos from the 2021 NFL London Games:

The Jets made their way across the pond for the first time since 2015 to take on the Falcons in Week 5.

New York’s latest trip to London was not a successful one, as it fell by a final score of 27-20. The game itself was still a spectacle, though, as fans flocked to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to watch American football live for the first time since 2019.

Here, we’ll take a look at the best photos of the action from London.

Zach Wilson among Studs & Duds from Jets’ Week 5 loss to Falcons

Zach Wilson underwhelmed in the Jets’ Week 5 loss to the Falcons. Studs and duds from New York’s trip to London:

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The Jets’ Week 5 loss to the Falcons in London was a tale of two halves. New York allowed 20 points in the first half, but buckled down over the final 30 minutes and nearly came back to overcome its 17-point deficit.

The Falcons ultimately proved to be too much for Gang Green, as Atlanta held on for a 27-20 win secured by a late Mike Davis rushing touchdown. Matt Ryan had his way with the Jets through his air, with the bulk of his passes going to rookie tight end Kyle Pitts in his breakout game.

Here are the studs and duds from New York’s loss as it prepares to enter its bye week.

Jets vs. Falcons Week 5 Recap: Everything we know

The Jets could not muster up enough offense to defeat the Falcons in their trip to London. Recap:

It took the Jets 30 minutes to get going in their trip to London to take on the Falcons.

This time around, they did not have enough second half magic in them to come all the way back for a win.

Tevin Coleman started the second half with a long kick return and the Jets took advantage of the big gain with a Ty Johnson touchdown, but that was far from enough to overcome Atlanta’s strong first half. The 20-3 lead Matt Ryan and company built proved to be just enough breathing room, as New York couldn’t muster up enough offense in a 27-20 loss.

Michael Carter cut the Falcons’ lead to 20-15 with six and a half minutes remaining in the fourth and Zach Wilson connected with Jamison Crowder on a two-point conversion to make it a three-point game. The Jets couldn’t get it done defensively with the game on the line, though, allowing Atlanta to convert on 3rd & 13 with just over four minutes remaining and then score a touchdown to put the game out of reach.

Here’s a quick look at New York’s fourth loss of the season — one that could have been avoided with just a bit more offensive output and one last defensive stand.

Jets vs. Falcons inactives: Brandin Echols, Nathan Shepherd good to go for London Games

Brandin Echols and Nathan Shepherd are active for the Jets in their Week 5 trip to London to take on the Falcons.

Depth on the defensive line and at cornerback should not be too much of an issue for the Jets in their trip to London to take on the Falcons, as Brandin Echols and Nathan Shepherd are both active after being listed as questionable.

Echols suffered a concussion in New York’s Week 4 win over the Titans, while Shepherd has been dealing with a knee injury and was a limited participant in practice during the week. Both will take the field at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, bolstering Jeff Ulbrich’s defense.

Zach Wilson is set to benefit from Elijah Moore’s return, as the rookie wide receiver is officially active. Moore suffered a concussion and did not play last week.

Gang Green’s only surprise inactive is Isaiah Dunn. The undrafted free agent out of Oregon State fared well against the Titans, contributing a key pass breakup in the fourth quarter to stymie a Tennessee scoring threat.

As for the Falcons, they are officially without starting wide receivers Calvin Ridley (personal) and Russell Gage (ankle) as expected. Ridley is Atlanta’s leading receiver, while Gage has caught just five passes in two games in what has so far been an injury-riddled season for the LSU product.

Thomas Hennessy facing off against brother Matt in London

Jets long snapper Thomas Hennessy will take on his brother, Falcons center Matt Hennessy, in London.

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The Jets’ Week 5 trip to London to take on the Falcons carries special meaning for the Hennessy family.

Sunday marks the first time Jets long snapper Thomas Hennessy will take on his younger brother, Falcons offensive lineman Matt Hennessy. Atlanta selected the 23-year-old in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft and has started all four of its games so far this season at center.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Thomas told ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “It doesn’t happen every day that you get to play your brother.”

The Hennessy brothers both attended New Jersey powerhouse Don Bosco Prep, but never played together because of their four-year age difference. They’ll share the field as opponents on Sunday with both playing prominent roles for their respective teams.

His brother steals most of the shine as a key part of the Falcons’ offensive line, but Thomas Hennessy has entrenched himself as one of the best long snappers in football since joining the Jets. Even though they won’t be lining up directly across from each other, the first edition of the 2021 NFL London Games will go down as a contest the Hennessy family never forgets.

“It’s a unique experience and we’ll definitely cherish it,” Thomas said.

Jets LB C.J. Mosley has advice for London football fans: Download Madden

Jets LB C.J. Mosley thinks playing Madden is the best way for those in London to familiarize themselves with American football.

The NFL started the London Games in 2007 to broaden its horizons and appeal to its fans across the pond. The league has played nearly 30 games overseas since, with the Jets and the Falcons becoming the 29th matchup on Sunday.

Even with the NFL’s best efforts, there are still a good amount of football fans in London who are still relatively unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the sport. Most fans know enough about American football to enjoy the game whenever two teams come to the country, but aren’t up to speed on the nuances that make football arguably the most popular sport in the United States.

C.J. Mosley offered advice to fans who don’t quite understand American football on Friday, emploring them to pick up a copy of Madden to learn the game.

“I guess it depends how much they know about football,” Mosley said. “You have to know the rules a little bit to understand what’s going on. When I first learned about [soccer] here, it was through FIFA. I didn’t know the rules of soccer until I started playing the video game. That’s how I kind of got into it.

“My advice for the people who don’t know it: download Madden. Go play Madden and figure it out on the fly.”

Madden has long helped American fans of all ages fall in love with football, making Mosley’s suggestion a good one. Maybe it can have the same effect on fans in London before the Jets’ march into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Jets, Falcons continue trend of losing London participants

The Jets and the Falcons will continue the trend of losing teams taking part in the NFL London Games when they meet in Week 5.

The NFL has long been focused on establishing an avid fanbase across the pond in London. The league is set to host its 29th game there over the weekend, but it has yet to schedule a matchup of two elite teams for fans to enjoy.

That continues this weekend, as the 1-3 Jets and 1-3 Falcons take the field on Sunday. New York’s matchup with Atlanta is the 10th London game to feature two teams with losing records. The other 20 London games have included one team with a winning or .500 record, but never two teams with a winning record.

The NFL has sent bad teams to London in the past because they don’t draw well at home. Sometimes, the league has bad luck and one team that was supposed to be good underperforms leading up to the game. The Jets and Falcons don’t fall into either category, as both teams routinely fill their stadium and neither squad was expected to be good in 2021.

Nonetheless, New York and Atlanta travel to London hoping to put on a show for the fans overseas. Both teams enter fresh off their first win of the season. If Week 4 was a sign of things to come, their Week 5 meeting should be a competitive one.

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