It’s never wise to put a lot of stock in preseason action. The sample of plays that actually matter are too small to make any concrete assessments; the general mindset, which prioritizes evaluation and experimentation over winning, makes it difficult to draw any worthwhile conclusions.
But, at the same time, it’s hard not to get excited about the way Atlanta’s pass rush has looked of late—especially on Friday in the Meadowlands. For the second straight game, the first-team defense regularly applied pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and by doing so kept the Jets at bay for each of their first five possessions.