A unit that was once a bright spot has turned into a liability.

Tori McElhaney

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. On a day as dreary as Sunday was in New Jersey when the Atlanta Falcons took on the New York Jets, the impact of mistakes can be magnified. It was for Atlanta, particularly on special teams. A unit that was once a bright spot for the organization has turned into a liability.

In the 27-24 loss the team's eighth on the year every facet of special teams struggled.

Jamal Agnew muffed a punt that allowed the Jets to take over on the Atlanta 2-yard line. They scored the first touchdown of the game a play later. The right side of the team's kickoff coverage left an open running lane, which allowed New York to return the ball 83 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter. It was the longest kickoff return the Falcons have given up since Week 4 of the 2021 season. Even kicker Zane Gonzalez, who started his run with the Falcons a perfect six for six on field goal attempts, missed a 50-yard kick.

"We played well in two phases, didn't play well in the other phase," head coach Raheem Morris said after the game. "You have to play well in all phases of the football game, and we certainly did not today."

Issues on special teams have been numerous this season, to the point of getting in the way of wins even ugly ones.

Since the start of last season, the Falcons have made just 74.2% of their field-goal attempts. That is the second-worst mark in the NFL, ahead of only Cleveland at 73%.

Entering Sunday, the Falcons averaged a league-worst 22.3 yards per kickoff return this season.

Punt and kickoff coverage have also had glaring miscues. In the last two weeks, the Falcons have given up a 75-yard return against the Saints and an 83-yard return against the Jets.

As of 5:30 p.m. ET, the Falcons have allowed 29.8 yards per kickoff return, which is the highest average in the NFL.

Tackling on special teams, Morris said, has to get better as field position continues to stress the Falcons' defense. Fortunately, that unit has held up fairly well in response to those big returns, but not well enough to prevent Atlanta's current circumstance.

"There are three phases in the game. You got play clean football on offense, defense and special teams. I'm not going to put that on special teams," defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus said. "It happens. It's football. We got to be better as a team."

It happens, but it's happening too often for Atlanta to feel confident about its special teams units. Kirk Cousins explained why that is a tough reality to face.

"You just know that it is always going to come down to the final drive. It's a dog fight every week," the starting quarterback said. "You never know which way it's going to break."

If the Falcons' special teams unit stopped the bleeding before it ever started Sunday, the conversation might be about a 10-point victory instead of another difficult loss.

The Jets were a beatable team. They only had two wins coming into this Week 13 matchup. And yet, they're the ones walking out of MetLife Stadium with a win. Meanwhile, the Falcons have lost six of their last seven games. And they can't excuse special teams' role in this slide.

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