Adonai Mitchell showing he can be a big part of Jets' future, not just Sauce Gardner trade throw-in

Adonai Mitchell found the ball floating through the air as a defender fell behind him and he had one thought as he made the catch and fell backward into the end zone.

“The only thing that was on my mind was just finishing,” the New York Jets wide receiver said. “Finish, finish, finish. That’s it.”

Mitchell had his first career touchdown catch Sunday, a 52-yard grab that was one of the highlights of the Jets' 27-24 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

It was also the latest chapter of what has become a redemption story for Mitchell, who has put the most embarrassing moment of his career behind him and become a key part of what the Jets are trying to develop on offense.

“AD is a very special talent,” said quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who has seen his share of standout wide receivers during a 15-year career. “Watching his routes and routes on air, watching how he practices every day, it means a lot to him. If you put the ball around him, he’s going to catch it.”

Mitchell did that at times after being drafted in the second round last year by Indianapolis out of Texas. But he also had some frustrating moments as a pro, none more so than when he dropped the ball before crossing the goal line against the Los Angeles Rams, costing him the first score of his career and resulting in a touchback in Week 4.

“That definitely crosses the mind,” he said. “But it was a growing point and a learning point. So, you know, all I could do was grow and learn from it.”

Mitchell played in four of the Colts’ next five games and had just two catches for 15 yards.

On Nov. 4, he was part of the deal in which New York sent star cornerback Sauce Gardner to Indianapolis. The focus had mostly been on the first-round draft pick in 2026 and another in 2027 the Jets received from the Colts, but Mitchell is already showing immediate returns.

“He’s here for a reason,” coach Aaron Glenn said. “Sometimes when these things happen, these trades happen, sometimes people think that he’s a throw-in. But he was never a throw-in. He was a guy that we wanted.”

Mitchell finished with a career-high eight catches for 102 yards and the TD against the Falcons, giving him 11 receptions on 25 targets for 154 yards in three games for the Jets.

With No. 1 wide receiver Garrett Wilson on injured reserve with a knee injury, Mitchell has moved into that top spot. He has also given the Jets optimism that he'll be able to fully complement Wilson as a playmaking duo of receivers moving forward once Wilson is again healthy.

“For him to be able to be a part of the trade, to be a part of what we’re building, again, he’s a true ‘X’ (receiver),” Glenn said. “The body type is a true ‘X.’ He has good speed. He can win one-on-one. I just look forward to seeing him progress as the season goes and for him coming back next year and being a huge part of what we’re doing.”

Special teams. The sometimes unsung unit took center stage against the Falcons. First-year coordinator Chris Banjo, a former special teams standout as a player, has put together a consistently solid unit. Nick Folk won the game with a 56-yard field goal as time expired, making up for his first miss of the season earlier in the game in lousy weather conditions. First-year punter Austin McNamara is among the NFL's leaders this season, raking seventh with a 43.6 net yards per punt average fourth with 22 kicks dropped inside the 20-yard line. The return game with Isaiah Williams and Kene Nwangwu has also regularly flipped the field for New York.

Run defense. The Jets entered with the 23rd-ranked defense against the run and they'll probably drop a bit lower after giving up 167 yards to Falcons, including 142 to Bijan Robinson. That came after New York recently made some noticeable improvement with its run defense, but Robinson and the Falcons showed the Jets still have holes.

S Malachi Moore. The rookie fourth-rounder from Alabama has settled in as a starter for much of the season and ranks third on the team with 54 overall tackles. He had a season-high 10 against the Falcons and became just the seventh Jets rookie defensive back in the past 30 seasons to have at least that many, according to Stats Perform.

WR Arian Smith. The rookie speedster was inactive Sunday for the first time this season. Glenn said he would keep the conversation he had with Smith, a fourth-round pick out of Georgia, between them but added: “He's a huge part of what we're doing.” Smith has six catches for 47 yards and three runs for 11 yards in 11 games this season.

S Tony Adams injured his groin Sunday and Glenn was uncertain if he might be sidelined. ... Wilson is out at least one more game on IR with his knee injury.

0 — The Jets have no interceptions, an NFL record for a team through its first 12 games. The fewest for an entire season is two by San Francisco in 16 games in 2018.

The Jets take on the AFC East-rival Dolphins after losing to them in Miami earlier this season.

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Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) runs against the New York Jets during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn speaks to an official during the second half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Jets place kicker Nick Folk (6) celebrates his field goal against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Jets wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (15) celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Jets wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (15) scores a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

MONTREAL (AP) — After receiving their first wake-up call of the playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have responded like the beasts of the East they have been all season.

Following a loss to open the Eastern Conference Final, the Hurricanes have won back-to-back games in overtime to take a 2-1 lead against Montreal in the best-of-seven series. They look like their old selves again, and it has them two games from reaching to the Stanley Cup Final.

“We’re feeling good about playing hockey again,” said winger Taylor Hall, who scored his fourth goal this postseason in Game 3 on Monday night. “Now the game is starting to slow down, and you’re making reads without even having to think about it.”

That spells trouble for the Canadiens, who registered just two shots on goal combined over the third period and OT. Carolina has outshot Montreal 64-26 over the past two games.

“They throw a lot to the net, so they’re going to outshoot you,” said Montreal's Cole Caufield, who scored 51 goals during the regular season. “I think everybody that plays them knows that, and you can’t look at it that way — that they kind of tilt the ice that much.”

Shot volume is something the Hurricanes have done consistently in the eight years since coach Rod Brind'Amour took over. What has changed in this series is preventing the young, skilled Canadiens from generating offense.

“You need everything working against a team like that,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “I don’t think you can just rely on the power play.”

Caufield chalked up his team's struggles to Carolina's pace and aggressive play. That the brand of hockey Brind'Amour wants to play.

“It’s putting the stress on them,” defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. “It’s a hard system for us to play sometimes because you’ve got to be on your toes. You’re always skating. But you can see it’s pretty effective, and it’s probably not the best to play against.”

It did not look at all right in Game 1 last week, which the Canadiens won 6-2 after getting off to a hot start, finding long breakout passes and staying patient in solving Carolina's relentless forecheck to hand the Hurricanes their first loss of the playoffs.

“It’s definitely a turning point for us: a little adversity,” Gostisbehere said. “Having two sweeps the first two rounds — not a lot of adversity in that sense. For us, it was a good kick in the teeth.”

The Hurricanes are now as close to the final as they've been during this run of success under Brind'Amour, which included getting swept twice and losing in five games in their three previous trips to the East final. This spring, they are 5-0 on the road and 5-0 in overtime thanks to a consistent approach.

“We try to play our game home and away,” first-line center Sebastian Aho said. “The game’s the same, I feel like. Obviously the environment is a little bit different, whether you’re home or away. But I feel like the game stays the same.”

Game 4 at Bell Centre in Montreal on Wednesday night is Carolina's first chance to move to the verge of making the final. The Canadiens feel like they have another level to get to, and they need to find it quickly.

"We didn’t expect this to be easy, and we’re OK with that," St. Louis said. “There’s not one thing. We have to put it all together. You’re at this stage right now, you have to put it all together. Execution’s part of that. Jam is part of that. There’s not one thing. We’ve just got to put it all together, and I know we can.”

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Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) and Andrei Svechnikov (37) celebrate in front of Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) after the winning goal by Aho in overtime of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Carolina Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov celebrates his goal with teammates after an overtime period of Game 3 of the NHL Eastern Conference final Stanley Cup playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, in Montreal, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) CORRECTION: Corrected the scorer to Andrei Svechnikov

Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) reacts after the teammate Andrei Svechnikov scored on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) as teammate Juraj Slafkovsky (20) looks on during an overtime period of Game 3 of the NHL Eastern Conference final Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) CORRECTION: Corrected the scorer to Andrei Svechnikov