Falcons’ Season on Display in Heartbreaking 27-24 Loss to Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD – The Atlanta Falcons walked off the field on a rainy Sunday in New York after letting another game slip through their fingers. They appeared to be in control throughout their matchup with the Jets, but allowed 10 unanswered points and fell short yet again.

Atlanta outgained New York by 120 yards, picked up nine more first downs, and saw Bijan Robinson total nearly 200 scrimmage yards. Performances like that illustrate the growth that linebacker Kaden Elliss says he sees from this team.

The loss is what people will remember. Those moments won’t dispel what has otherwise been a frustrating season for the Falcons.

“You lose these close ones, and it just sucks,” Elliss said. “Every game [in the NFL] is close. The ability to finish out those close games is really what separates, right? Everybody’s got good players, everybody’s got a good scheme. Everybody will have one or two blowouts, either way. But it’s what you do in those nine close games?”

Their wins have often looked dominant – 22-6 over the Vikings, 24-14 over the Bills, 24-10 over the Saints. Their losses have been head-scratching, often eliciting hair-pulling and hand-wringing.

For the Falcons, these close games have been their Achilles’ heel.

Through Week 13, they have four losses by three points or less. They are 0-2 in overtime games. Three of their last four games have come down to the final play, and all of those ended with losses.

If the Falcons had flipped two or three of those games in their favor, they would still be within striking distance of the division with five games still to play. Instead, it’s a 4-8 mark and an eighth consecutive season on the outside of the postseason.

Missed kicks, special teams blunders, and conversion failures have led to a 1-5 record in games decided by one score or less. Sunday’s loss saw all three of those issues flare up, and it likely cost them this game.

“Everybody says it. It is the details. In this game, everybody is still good on both teams, no matter what the record is,” defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus said. “End of the day, we have to be mentally stronger when playing in the rain. We just got to do better overall, and we got to ﬁnish that’s it.”

Finishing has routinely been an issue for this Falcons team. They relinquished control in all of their last three losses, and with them, their season.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said his goal was still to “win” down the stretch of the season, and Elliss said they “keep fighting,” but none of that changes the fact that the year has likely been lost.

“It's just the approach you've got to take, you know, go into Monday and try to figure out what you need to do to move forward,” Morris said. “And we'll go out there, and we'll figure out how to beat the Seattle Seahawks.”

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The Falcons left MetLife Stadium on Sunday night with rain on their jerseys and another winnable game having washed away behind them – a fitting snapshot of their season.

They have led games and have often controlled them, showing flashes of what could be, but they have struggled to close them out.

Unfortunately, that is the difference between playing meaningful games in December and beyond versus simply closing out the stretch on another frustrating season.