The main takeaways, moments and more that determined the outcome of Sundays game between Falcons and Jets.

Terrin Waack

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. The Atlanta Falcons lost to the New York Jets on a gloomy, wet Sunday at MetLife Stadium in Week 13 to further their less-than-ideal circumstances.

Final score: 27-24

Why it's important:The Falcons fail to stack another win on top of last Sunday's success against the New Orleans Saints and drop to 4-8 overall. Even with the loss, Atlanta isn't eliminated from playoff contention. But it certainly made the Falcons' postseason path more difficult than it already was with five games remaining.

Key takeaway:Special teams hurt the Falcons in New York.

• More: First, the unit set up the Jets' opening touchdown in the second quarter after Falcons returner Jamal Agnew muffed a punt. The Jets recovered and took over at the 2-yard line, where running back Breece Hall closed the gap on the very next play to push New York ahead early. Then, Falcons kicker Zane Gonzalez missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter that would have given Atlanta the lead. Instead, the Falcons and Jets remained tied 14-all. Gonzalez later made a 52-yard field goal to close out the third quarter, but then the Falcons gave up an 83-yard punt return in the fourth quarter that set up a game-tying 32-yard field goal for Jets kicker Nick Folk.

Key moment:There were really two, both of which have already been addressed. There was the Falcons' muffed punt in the second quarter and the Jets' massive punt return in the fourth quarter. Those special-teams errors led to 10 points for New York. Otherwise, Atlanta's defense only allowed two touchdowns, which normally should be enough to give the offense room to pull off a win.

Standout performance: Bijan Robinson. The running back totaled 193 yards from scrimmage and scored one of the Falcons' three touchdowns. His 5-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter gave him 30 touchdowns in his career and made him the fastest Falcons player to reach 30 touchdowns all time. He did so in 46 games.

• More: Robinson had 90 rushing yards in the first half, giving him 654 rushing yards in all first halves combined this season. That's the most by any player in the NFL through the 1 p.m. ET games. Buffalo Bills running back James Cook entered the 4:25 p.m. ET window with 618 first-half rushing yards.

Number to know:33%. The Falcons converted four of their 12 third-down attempts. Atlanta entered with a 33.1% conversion rate, which ranked 29th in the NFL. Since the Falcons' five-game losing streak began in Week 7, they have a 23.8% conversion rate, which is lowest in the league.

Player milestones:

• Wide receiver Deven Thompkins caught his first pass of the season in the first quarter. It was a 19-yard catch, good for the second-longest of his career. The Falcons used a standard practice squad elevation on Thompkins.
• Edge rusher Leonard Floyd sacked Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor in the second quarter. Floyd has recorded at least one sack in four straight games against the Jets, which is the second-longest active streak by any player. Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has done so in seven games.
• Quarterback Kirk Cousins completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver David Sills V in the fourth quarter, giving the veteran 291 career passing touchdowns. Cousins is now tied with Hall of Famer Warren Moon for 16th-most touchdown passes in NFL history.

Injury updates:

• Defensive lineman Kentavius Street went down with a possible injury at the end of the first quarter.
• Edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie collided with defensive lineman David Onyemata in the first quarter. Ebiketie limped off the field and missed a few plays, but ultimately returned.
• Tight end Feleipe Franks was announced as doubtful to return in the second quarter with a calf injury.

A quick tweet:The Falcons editorial staff of Tori McElhaney, Will McFadden and Terrin Waack share their gut reactions to Sunday's outcome in 280 characters or fewer.

• McElhaney: Seemed like special teams tried every way imaginable to keep the Jets in this game.
• McFadden: I'm trying to be more positive in life, so I'm going to focus on Bijan Robinson beingan actual running back deityand not Atlanta's special teams.
• Waack: The weather matched the vibe of the game.

Setting the storylines:

• Week 13:Inactives|Practice squad elevations

• Pro Bowl voting is now open.

• This week's Nerdy Birds dissectedhow the Falcons fixed their pass rush. Atlanta entered Sunday's game ranked third in the NFL with 39 sacks. It had 31 total last year.
• Falcons kicker Zane Gonzalez was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after making three field goals,including two from 50-plus yards out, in the Week 12 win against the New Orleans Saints.
• The Falcons nominated inside linebacker Kaden Elliss forthe NFLs 2025 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. Head coach Raheem Morris said the decision was "self-explanatory."
• Catch up on all the news that came out in the lead-up to Sunday's gamehere.

Looking forward:The Falcons play the Seattle Seahawks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium next Sunday for their Week 14 contest.

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