Jets Bench Boyle to Start Fourth Quarter vs. Falcons

Trevor Siemian tries to spark struggling offense to no avail in touchdown-less loss

The New York Jets deployed their fourth different quarterback this season, replacing Tim Boyle with veteran Trevor Siemian for their first possession of the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons. 

The quarterback change happened with the Jets facing a 13-8 deficit. 

"Just trying to spark the offense," said Jets' head coach Robert Saleh.

It was Siemian's first game action since joining the Jets' Practice Squad on September 26. The team officially signed the 31-year-old quarterback to the 53-man roster on November 21, lifting him over Zach Wilson to No. 2 on the depth chart.

Making his second straight start, Boyle struggled to find a rhythm. He overthrew his receivers on multiple occasions as the offense mustered up only two field goals through the first three quarters of play. Boyle was 14-of-25 passing for 148 yards and one interception before heading to the bench. He was sacked once and posted a 56.8 quarterback rating. 

In the Black Friday loss to Miami, Boyle went 27-of-38 passing for 179 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Upon entering, Siemian completed two of his first five passes as his first possession lasted seven plays and ended with a punt. He did hit Tyler Conklin for a 16-yard gain on his first snap.

"I thought he did a good job, got the first completion to Conk [Conklin]," said Saleh. "There's a couple of protection breakdowns. Overall, it felt fine. I gotta go back and look, but, obviously, it still wasn't good enough."

Siemian finished the 13-8 loss by going 5-of-13 passing for 66 yards. He took three sacks.

Saleh did not commit to a starting quarterback for Week 14 during his postgame press conference.

As a team, the Jets averaged 3.9 net yards per play against Atlanta. The offense accounted for a dismal 2-of-15 clip on third down attempts. 

Prior to Sunday's relief appearance, Siemian has logged 7,207 pass yards while accounting for a 58.9 completion percentage over 35 career games. He entered with a 42:28 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The 2015 seventh-round draft pick experienced his most successful season with the 2016 Denver Broncos. He posted an 8-6 record during the 3,400-yard passing campaign. 

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