Grades for Falcons-Jets

Here are the top takeaways from Friday’s Falcons-Jets game; including the highest graded players for each team:

Atlanta Falcons

— First rounder Vic Beasley (+1.8) flashed some of the ability that saw Atlanta invest a top 10 pick in him. He walked away with a hit, hurry and batted pass on 14 pass rushes and got the better of D’Brickashaw Ferguson.

— Beasley wasn’t the only one to impress on the defensive line. Jonathan Babineaux looks more spritely in Dan Quinn’s defense, especially with one big tackle for a loss where his speed was too much for Nick Mangold.

— It’s a limited sample size but two positive pass blocking grades on the bounce for Jake Matthews as he looks to rebound from his tough rookie season. If he plays to the level of a first rounder that will be a huge upgrade to the Falcons line.

— Matt Ryan looked assured in limited duty with his only incompletion a throw away. Not a lot was asked of him on his five dropbacks but he executed seamlessly.

1. Mike Person, OL and Adrian Clayborn, DL (+3.2)
2. Paul Worrilow, LB (+2.9)
3. Jonathan Babineaux, DT, Jake Matthews, LT and Warren Herring, DL (+1.9)

New York Jets

— The big story was the two sacks of Leonard Williams, but the reality is both were sacks that he’d have found harder not to pick up. More impressive was his work in the run game which featured control around the line of scrimmage and two stops.

— As poor as Ryan Fitzpatrick was, Bryce Petty did nothing to put any pressure on him. He didn’t test the Falcons D, instead struggling throughout to earn a -3.4 grade (Fitzpatrick was at -1.8). “FitzMagic” can’t take the blame for the Jets first team offensive struggles, but he was extremely poor (-2.3) when dealing with pressure.

— How the mighty can fall. Sheldon Richardson saw just 15 snaps and they were with the second team offense.

1. Leonard Williams, DL (+3.4)
2. Brandon Marshall, WR (+1.7)
3. Chris Ivory, HB (+1.5)
4. Steve Maneri, TE (+1.4)
5. Charles Brown, LT, Joe Mays, LB and Demario Davis, LB (+1.3)