Jets bench another starting QB, turn to Trevor Siemian in loss to Falcons

Tim Boyle’s run with the New York Jets didn’t last long.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh benched another starting quarterback Sunday afternoon in New York's latest twist at the position since losing Aaron Rodgers to an Achilles injury. The Jets replaced Boyle, who replaced Zach Wilson two weeks ago, with Trevor Siemian in the second half of their 13-8 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

The Jets first turned to Boyle two weeks ago in their loss to the Buffalo Bills after another rough outing from Wilson, who has largely struggled while trying to replace Rodgers. Boyle then started last week in the Jets’ 34-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins, where he went 27-of-38 for 179 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

That was apparently enough to give him another start this weekend, though it didn’t go well at MetLife Stadium. Boyle completed 14 of 25 passes for 148 yards with an interception before he was benched. The Jets went three-and-out on two of their first three drives of the day, and they had to settle with just three offensive points at halftime despite getting inside the Falcons’ 10 yard line.

By the time Boyle threw a bad interception to Jessie Bates III at the end of the third quarter, Saleh had seen enough. He threw Siemian in for the rest of the game.

The Falcons' offense wasn't much better, to be fair, but it didn't need to be. Desmond Ridder hit MyCole Pruitt for a 20-yard touchdown in the first half to give the Falcons a 7-2 lead — after they gave up a safety in the first quarter — and Younghoe Koo hit a pair of field goals to boost it to a five-point win.

The Jets actually had 65 more yards of offense than the Falcons did, and threw for 93 more yards. But 11 penalties and three turnovers, one of which belonged to Siemian, didn't help.

Ridder went 12-of-27 for 121 yards with a touchdown in the win, which marked Atlanta's second straight and brought it back to .500 on the season. Bijan Robinson led the Falcons on the ground with 53 yards on 18 carries, and Kyle Pitts had 51 yards on four catches.

Siemian went 5-of-13 for 66 yards to close out the game for the Jets. Dalvin Cook had 35 yards on nine carries, and Xavier Gipson had 77 yards on five catches.

Though the Jets have opened the practice window for Rodgers to return, that’s apparently unlikely to happen this season — which makes sense, considering Rodgers is 40 years old and underwent an Achilles procedure not even three months ago. That leaves the Jets with Siemian, Boyle and Wilson the rest of the way.

With all of them struggling, and the Jets losing week after week, it’s unclear who Saleh will turn to next week against the Houston Texans (7-5).