The New York Jets (2-9) will host the Atlanta Falcons (4-7) at MetLife Stadium Sunday. Let's take a deeper look at what to expect from their Week 13 opponent.
Life After Michael Penix Jr.
The Falcons snapped a 5-game losing streak with a victory over the Saints, 24-10, last Sunday. Veteran QB Kirk Cousins made his second start of the season following a season-ending knee injury to second-year signal caller Michael Penix.
Falcons HC Raheem Morris told reporters during Week 12 that the starting job would be Cousins' for the "foreseeable future," setting up the former Pro Bowl QB to start versus New York.
Cousins, in his 14th season, has been serviceable, completing 69% of his passes for 372 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in his two starts. In addition, Atlanta has averaged 17 points in those games and posted a 1-1 record.
Cousins has been elite at spreading the ball around to Atlanta's playmakers -- headlined by dynamic RB Bijan Robinson and WR Drake London, who missed the last game with a knee injury.
Robinson is third in the NFL in scrimmage yards (1,396) and has found the end zone 6 times. He leads all running backs averaging 11.1 yards per reception and is second among halfbacks with 543 receiving yards, second on the team to London.
London, despite missing 2 games, has 810 yards receiving, good for sixth most in the NFL and the most of any player with fewer than 95 targets. Additionally, London has 6 receiving scores. London's availability for Sunday remains undetermined.
When Atlanta's offense is at its best with Penix under center, it competed with best units in the league. During their 3-2 start, the Falcons averaged 378.9 total yards per game. Since Cousins has taken over, they have been unable to find that same consistency, averaging just over 250 yards per game.
"Kirk has been around a long time," Falcons wide receiver David Sills said. "When he's out there, we know what we are going to get from him. He's been in a lot of situations, pretty much every situation you can think of. He knows how to go in there and play the position and do really well at it."
Opportunistic Defense
On defense, Atlanta has consistently been able to force multiple takeaways per game and keep the league's best offenses at bay.
Across 11 games, the Falcons have forced 2 or more turnovers in 6 games and had a takeaway in all but 2 games. And in 4 games against the NFL's top 10 scoring offenses this season, Atlanta has allowed 20.3 points per game.
Atlanta has a young defense with an average starters age of 26 years old, led by second-year DT Brandon Dorlus and rookie S Xavier Watts.
Dorlus leads the team with 6 sacks, despite rushing from the interior on 72% of snaps, while Watts leads his unit with 3 interceptions. In addition, rookie first-round pass rushers Jalon Walker (15th overall pick) and James Pearce (26th overall pick) have combined for 9 sacks.
"Obviously sacks and pressures have been a big focus on our team all the way from the draft," Morris said following their Week 12 win. "Over the last couple of weeks, we've been able to show that. They kept it up today."
Despite a less than ideal 4-7 record, Atlanta is still only 2 games behind Tampa Bay and Carolina for the NFC South division lead. Additionally, the Falcons do not hold their own first -round draft pick -- which was traded to the Rams during the offseason -- giving them no incentive to throw in the towel when they visit the Green & White in Week 13.
