Folk hero, Part Deux.
Somewhere, Rex Ryan is smiling.
Years after Jets kicker Nick Folk was nicknamed that by Ryan when he was the Jets head coach and Folk was in his first stint with the team, Folk was at it again Sunday, kicking the game-winning field goal in a 27-24 Jets win over Atlanta.
“There’s nothing like playing on Sunday in front of fans and getting a chance to help the team win,” Folk said. “Everyone gets to make the sundae. I just get to put the cherry on top. Just happy to help us get a win.”
Aaron Glenn, the rookie Jets head coach, brought Folk in during training camp when the two young kickers he had on the roster weren’t instilling a lot of confidence.
“I played with Nick,” Glenn said, referring to their time together in Dallas. “That’s crazy. We knew that he was going to come in and be able to stabilize [the kicking game].”
Jets guard John Simpson called Folk “very low-key,” adding, “All the ‘OGs’ are the same way. They don’t really say nothing. They just are there. Then when they do talk, you’re like, ‘Let me listen to what he’s saying because he doesn’t talk often.’ ”
Jets defensive back Qwan’tez Stiggers is a native of Atlanta, and the Falcons were his favorite team.
When he was playing in the East-West Shrine Game coming out of college he hoped the Falcons would acquire him, but he said they gave him “the cold shoulder.’’
Stiggers set up the Jets first TD when he recovered a muffed punt by Atlanta returner Jamal Agnew at the Falcons 2-yard line.
“This game was definitely personal,” Stiggers said. “I had the game marked on my calendar all year. It’s a full-circle moment. I was leaving the [Senior Bowl], hoping they were going to give me a look, but they didn’t. They gave me the cold shoulder.”
Aaron Glenn refuted any notion that WR Adonai Mitchell, who led the team with eight catches for 102 yards and a TD, was a “throw-in” in the Sauce Gardner trade to the Colts.
“He’s here for a reason,” Glenn said. “He was a guy that we wanted. We watched him coming out of college. He’s actually from my hometown [in Texas], so I’ve been knowing him for a while. He actually went to high school with my daughter, so I’ve been knowing about this player for a while.’’
Isaiah Williams’ 83-yard kickoff return that set up a Jets field goal was particularly satisfying to him because teams are kicking away from Kene Nwangwu, their top returner.
“It’s most definitely motivating,” Williams said. “Both of us, we’re playmakers.’’
The Jets got away with allowing Falcons RB Bijan Robinson to run wild, rushing for 142 yards and a TD on 22 carries and adding 51 more yards on five receptions.
The Jets run defense had shown improvement of late, allowing just 98 yards against the Ravens last week and 65 against the Patriots the game before.
Atlanta finished with 167 yards and two TDs on 32 carries.
The Falcons entered the game having recorded at least five sacks in each of the previous four games.
The streak was the longest in the NFL since the 2022 Eagles.
They ranked third in the NFL with 39 sacks entering the game.
On Sunday, they took down Tyrod Taylor just twice.
Falcons TE Kyle Pitts Sr. hurt the Jets again, catching seven passes for 82 yards.
He entered the game having caught 18 passes for 170 yards and a TD in two games against the Jets.
The Jets’ remarkable interception streak has now reached 12 games without one, an NFL record of futility to which they continue to add. … Jets RB Breece Hall who had 119 yards from scrimmage last week, finished with 68 rushing yards and a TD Sunday. … The Jets entered the game with 19 sacks this season, with just three teams in the league having fewer. Jets DL Micheal Clemons and S Tony Adams each had a sack of Kirk Cousins.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
