Three Jets who Deserve Praise in win Over Falcons

If Mitchell is this effective for the remainder of the season, the Jets might be able to roll into 2026 with him as a starter in base 11 personnel alongside Garrett Wilson, tight end Mason Taylor, and a player the team adds in the 2026 NFL Draft. Mitchell, like many Jets, is trying to prove he can be a part of the solution that turns this team around in the 2026 season. If he strings together a few more games like this, it will be very hard to deny him a very prominent role in the team’s offensive plan of attack.

Defense: Malachi Moore, S

This was a game the whole defense would like to forget, for the most part. Despite the gritty win the team had overall, the defense gave up 234 passing yards to Atlanta’s backup quarterback, Kirk Cousins. They were also tormented all day on the ground and in the air by Bijan Robinson, who finished with 142 yards on the ground and 51 yards through the air on five receptions. Kyle Pitts even joined the fun, finishing with one of the best games in his career, 82 yards on seven receptions. However, not all pieces of the defense played badly.

Malachi Moore arguably played the best game of his entire career, albeit it’s been a small sample size so far. Moore finished the game leading the entire team in tackles with 10. Six of which were solos, and only four tackles, Moore had an assist. This is a huge positive development for Moore, as he has missed a ton of tackles in the early going of this season. So, things are indeed trending in the right direction for Moore. Should the Jets get an FS this offseason and Moore keep improving, Jets fans have a lot to be excited about next season.

Moore’s biggest play of the game came in the middle of the second quarter as he wrapped up Robinson for a 3-yard loss on a pass from Cousins. Moore’s ability to get to one of the best running backs in the league and take him down in the backfield, which rarely happens, was a very welcome sight to see. Moore, who started very rocky, indeed, has seemed to turn the page in this one, and that’s a major positive step in the early going of his development.

Special Teams: Nick Folk, K

Is Nick Folk indeed a “timeless wonder?” Well, at this point, it would be hard to argue that statement. In a year where the New York Jets are one of the youngest teams in the league and have placed an outsized emphasis on developing these growing players, 41-year-old kicker Nick Folk continued to prove he is one of the best players on the squad in a pulse-pounding way against the Atlanta Falcons. Just a bit after Folk missed his first kick of the year on a cold and rainy afternoon, Folk managed to barely sneak in a game-winning 56-yard boot that pushed New York to 3-9 on the season with a 27-24 victory.

Folk was an obvious candidate to receive the lone game ball Glenn gave out in this game. Glenn’s testimony to how long Folk has been drilling kicks shows the Jets have something truly remarkable in the aging kicker, who is one of the best players at his position in the league. Glenn, 53, was a member of the 2007 Dallas Cowboys (who used a sixth-round pick on a then-rookie Folk) during the offseason. Glenn is now coaching his former teammate in New York, as Folk’s career has now gone on so long that he may end up extending it to two full decades.

Folk finished the game connecting on two of his three field goal attempts, hitting a long of 56 yards to win the game. He also connected on all three of his extra point attempts, which proved to be very crucial to the Jets’ win. Even at age 41, Folk’s accurate leg has been a bastion of reliability. Folk is one of the main reasons special teams coordinator Chris Banjo and the Jets have one of the best special teams units in the NFL. Folk’s NFL career may not have many more years left, but if he keeps nailing kicks for old teammate Glenn’s squad, he may have the kicker spot locked up until he decides he has had enough.