Rest up, Aaron Rodgers.
Any hope of the Jets making a run at the playoffs and allowing Rodgers to return ended Sunday on a soggy day at MetLife Stadium with the Jets losing 13-8 to the Falcons in another dismal performance.
The loss, the Jets’ fifth straight, drops them to 4-8, meaning they are mathematically still alive for the playoffs but not realistically alive.
The Jets went to their fourth quarterback of the season with Robert Saleh benching Tim Boyle at the end of the third quarter and replacing him with Trevor Siemian.
Like everything else the Jets have tried on offense this season, the move did not work and Siemian fumbled the ball with 2:45 left in the game at midfield, ending any realistic hope the Jets had at winning.
The Falcons (6-6) were not much better than the Jets on offense but they did manage to score one touchdown.
Second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder went 12 of 27 for 121 yards and one touchdown.
The Jets defense stymied the Falcons for most of the day, including in the fourth quarter when they stopped Atlanta and gave the Jets the ball back with 5:23 left and a chance to win the game with a touchdown.
Siemian moved the ball, hitting Jeremy Ruckert for a 12-yard pass and then running for 8 yards but Richie Grant hit him as he was throwing and the ball popped out with Andre Smith recovering.
It was initially ruled an incomplete pass on the field and that saved the Jets from Smith returning it for a touchdown.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith challenged the call and it was ruled a fumble upon review, giving the Falcons the ball at midfield.
The Jets would get the ball back one more time with less than two minutes to play at their own 7.
They managed to get to their own 37-yard line but no further.
Saleh benched Boyle after he threw an interception to Falcons safety Jessie Bates near the end of the third quarter.
Boyle had been unable to get anything going all day, going 14-of-25 passing for 148 yards and the interception.
Siemian entered the game with 13:06 left in the game to try to spark something.
His first pass was a 16-yard completion to Tyler Conklin and the small MetLife Stadium crowd went wild.
But the drive ended up like most Jets’ drives these days with a punt.
The Jets opened up the second half by at least trying to attack the Falcons defense.
Boyle threw a 31-yard pass to Garrett Wilson, who had gotten past Jeff Okudah, to start the half off with some hope.
The Jets then converted a fourth down on another pass to Wilson, but then the drive fell apart.
The Jets committed back-to-back false start penalties with Joe Tippmann and Mekhi Becton as the culprits.
It looked like Boyle had found Wilson for another long gain but it was ruled an incomplete pass after a Falcons challenge.
The Jets settled for a 46-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein to cut the Atlanta lead to 10-8 with 10:32 left in the third quarter.
The Falcons answered with a 14-play drive that featured a lot of successful runs against the Jets defense, but Atlanta could not reach the end zone and Younghoe Koo kicked a 42-yard field goal to make it 13-8 Falcons with 3:38 left in the third quarter.
The first half was a penalty-filled mess for the Jets.
They committed eight penalties for 56 yards. The offense, defense and special teams all got involved in the calls.
With the offense struggling at usual, the defense scored first for the Jets.
Quinnen Williams and Ashtyn Davis combined to stuff Falcons running back Bijan Robinson in the end zone for a safety, the Jets’ third of the season, for a 2-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The safety was set up by a 47-yard punt by Thomas Morstead that pinned the Falcons on their own 1.
Dalvin Cook, who had some strong runs early, set up the Falcons’ first score when he fumbled and the Falcons recovered it at the Jets’ 47.
Six plays later, Ridder connected with tight end MyCole Pruitt for a 20-yard touchdown.
Pruitt got behind Jets safety Jordan Whitehead for the score and the 7-2 second-quarter lead.
The two teams traded field goals before halftime to make it a 10-5 Falcons lead at halftime.
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