EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Jets wide receiver Adonai Mitchell scored his first NFL touchdown on Sunday, two months after he turned what should’ve been his first TD into an NFL blooper.
Playing for the Indianapolis Colts, Mitchell was about to score a 75-yard touchdown in Week 4, but he let the ball go a split-second before crossing the goal line. It resulted in a touchback, a clumsy gaffe that loomed large in the Colts’ seven-point loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
This time, he enjoyed a moment of redemption with his 52-yard touchdown reception, one of the key plays in the Jets’ 27-24 victory over the Atlanta Falcons at MetLife Stadium.
“Yeah, that definitely crosses the mind,” Mitchell said, reflecting on his earlier faux pas. “But it was a growing point and a learning point, so all I could do was grow and learn from it. And the only thing that was on my mind [Sunday] was just finish, finish, finish, finish.”
Indeed, Mitchell finished with eight catches for 102 yards, the first 100-yard receiving game of his two-year NFL career. He came up big in the clutch, with two receptions for 15 yards on the game-winning drive that ended with Nick Folk’s 56-yard field goal as time expired.
The Jets, who rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter, snapped a two-game losing streak in improving to 3-9.
This was Mitchell’s third game with the Jets, who acquired him in a deadline-day blockbuster. They sent star cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts for first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, plus Mitchell.
At the time, Mitchell was perceived to be a throw-in.
“He was never a throw-in,” New York coach Aaron Glenn said. “He was a guy that we wanted.
“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.”
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Since the trade, the Jets are 2-2, while the Colts are 1-2 (and Gardner suffered a calf injury Sunday). Meanwhile, Mitchell has established himself as a starting-caliber player, a potential complement to Garrett Wilson (sprained knee), who is on injured reserve.
Mitchell said he was watching film with Colts quarterback Daniel Jones while preparing for a game against the Falcons when the trade went down.
“I was just surprised. But kind of after the surprise feeling went away, I was just excited,” said Mitchell, a 2024 second-round pick by the Colts. “[I was] excited for a new chapter, excited for a new beginning, just to kind of put everything in the past in the past. I guess life is going full circle to get my first one against Atlanta, so I’m happy to be a Jet, man.”
Mitchell’s score on Sunday came with the Jets trailing 14-7 in the third quarter. He ran a go route on cornerback Mike Hughes, who had single coverage. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor recognized the favorable matchup and heaved it deep — 52 air yards, the Jets’ third-longest such completion over the past 15 years.
It was slightly underthrown, so Mitchell had to turn. He made the catch falling backward into the end zone, with his rear end landing on the goal line. It was the Jets’ longest scrimmage play of the campaign.
“AD is a very special talent,” said Taylor, who passed for 172 yards and one touchdown and added another score on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter. “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 recorded the Jets’ first 100-yard receiving day of the season. A backup with the Colts — his playing time was reduced after his blunder against the Rams — he now has a prominent role with the Jets.
“I’d say the ups and downs, it definitely plays with your confidence a little bit,” he said, recalling his time in Indianapolis. “I always knew who I can be, but it always came down to me, whether it was finishing or just being locked in details.”
Mitchell recalled how he almost scored his first touchdown last season. It was against the Jets at MetLife on a 33-yard reception in which he lunged for the goal line but was stopped inches short. Mitchell beat his man on a crossing route. The cornerback on the play?
It was Gardner.
