EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Nick Folk had already atoned for his first field goal miss of the season. With the game on the line, he kicked the New York Jets to a comeback victory.
Folk lined a 56-yarder through a heavy mist as time expired to lead the Jets past the Atlanta Falcons 27-24 on Sunday.
“Any time Nick kicks the ball,” coach Aaron Glenn said, “I feel like it’s good.”
But in a game between two struggling teams that was anything but pretty, Folk’s kick was also far from it.
The 41-year-old kicker in his second stint with the Jets said the 38-yard line — a 56-yard field goal try — was his limit in pregame warmups on a cold and damp day. Tyrod Taylor got the offense to that very spot on the field and then Folk got just enough on the football to bounce back from an earlier miss on a 55-yarder.
“I was like, all right, I’m pretty sure with a little adrenaline I can let one ride,” Folk said before breaking into a wide grin. “So I just went up there and gave it a boot.”
He was mobbed at midfield by his teammates as the Jets fans in a drenched and half-empty MetLife Stadium went wild.
“It felt amazing,” Taylor said of the win. "It wasn't a perfect game, by any means. We speak about our brand of football and being complementary to one another in all three phases. I think this was the perfect game to show that.”
Taylor went 19 of 33 for 172 yards and a touchdown pass and also ran for 44 yards and a score in his second start in a row for the benched Justin Fields as the Jets (3-9) snapped a two-game skid. Adonai Mitchell had a career-high eight receptions for 102 yards and his first NFL touchdown, and Breece Hall ran for 68 yards and a score.
After the defense held Kirk Cousins and the Falcons to a three-and-out, the Jets got the ball back at their 43 with 35 seconds left and two timeouts remaining. Taylor had a 14-yard run and hit Mitchell for 10 and 5 yards on the drive to put Folk in position for his winner.
“It’s more to me than just the win I'm looking at," Glenn said. "These guys never quit.”
Cousins went 21 of 33 for 234 yards and a touchdown in his second start for the injured Michael Penix Jr. Bijan Robinson ran for 142 yards and a score and caught five passes for 51 yards for the Falcons (4-8), who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
“It’s always tough to lose in this league and it’s a lot tougher when you don’t have production,” Cousins said. “I’m proud of the way Bijan played and the guys around him who helped him have a day like he had. ... I just wish it had been in a win, and he does, too."
Cousins threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to David Sills to put the Falcons up 24-17 with 8:46 remaining. It was the 291st career TD toss for Cousins, who broke a tie with Pro Football Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas for 17th on the NFL's all-time list.
But Taylor scored on a 10-yard run that capped a 15-play drive during which the Jets converted three third-down plays and one on fourth down — a 2-yard keeper by Taylor on fourth-and-1 at the 11 — to tie it at 24 with 1:53 remaining.
The Jets got just their second takeaway of the season when Jamal Agnew fumbled a fair catch of Austin McNamara's punt and Qwan'tez Stiggers recovered at the Atlanta 2. Hall ran it up the middle on the next play to put New York up 7-0 1:02 into the second quarter.
Tyler Allgeier powered into the end zone from 1 yard to tie it at 7 for the Falcons with 9 seconds left in the opening half.
Atlanta marched 95 yards on its opening possession of the second half, capped by Robinson's 5-yard touchdown run.
But the Jets needed just two plays to tie it again.
Taylor launched a deep pass downfield to Mitchell — who got wide open after Mike Hughes fell in coverage — for a 52-yard touchdown. It was Mitchell's first touchdown catch since being acquired from Indianapolis at the trade deadline in the deal that sent Sauce Gardner to the Colts. It was also the Jets' longest pass play of the season.
Zane Gonzalez, the NFC special teams player of the week after his second game with the Falcons, was wide right on a 50-yard field-goal attempt with 4:47 left in the third quarter to keep the game tied.
Folk, who entered 20 for 20 on field goals this season, was short on a 55-yarder on the Jets' next possession.
Gonzalez bounced back on his next attempt, booting a 52-yarder to put the Falcons up 17-14 as time expired in the third quarter.
After Isaiah Williams took the ensuing kickoff 83 yards to the Falcons 15, Folk made a 32-yarder to tie it again.
Falcons: TE Feleipe Franks left in the first half with an injured calf.
Jets: S Tony Adams left with a groin injury.
Falcons: Home against the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday.
Jets: Host the AFC East-rival Miami Dolphins next Sunday.
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