The Mike Smith decision to go for the touchdown at the end of the first half last night was a game-changer that kept momentum clearly in favor of the New York Jets, who were able to maintain that and ultimately squeak-out a 2-point win.
To recap, Atlanta was trailing 17-7, and had the ball on the goal line with time for one play at the end of the opening half. They would end up having two more plays, because on 4th down, the Jets interfered with Tony Gonzalez and got called for the pass interference penalty, and Atlanta got another opportunity.
That left the Falcons with time for one play and a chip-shot field goal, but instead opted to go for the touchdown, and running back Jacquizz Rodgers was stuffed on a run play, and the Falcons went to the half still down 10.
"“We felt like we needed to score a touchdown in that situation,” Smith said, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We felt like we had an opportunity to do it and we didn’t get it done. In hindsight, it is probably not the way we wanted it to work out, but that is the decision that we made.”"