EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Atlanta Falcons' season, like the wet football Matt Ryan kept fumbling, was in danger of slipping away. But it was the New York Jets who again couldn't hang on in the end.

Staring at a fourth straight loss to an AFC East opponent, Ryan hit New Jersey native Mohamed Sanu for the go-ahead touchdown with 12:22 left in the fourth quarter, and the Falcons hung on to beat the Jets 25-20 on Sunday afternoon through a steady rain at MetLife Stadium.

"It was definitely big for us, now we just have to keep stacking 'em," Sanu said, adding that this was his first game in his home state since he left Rutgers in 2011. "We just had to keep chopping away at it and stay focused because you never know which play is gonna be the big play."

Ain't that the truth.

The Jets (3-5) had just forced a three-and-out and were about to get the ball back down 22-20 inside seven minutes to play, but the normally sure-handed Jeremy Kerley muffed a punt and Atlanta's Kemal Ishmael recovered on the New York 13-yard line. Matt Bryant hit his fourth field goal three plays later for the final margin with 5:19 to play.

Kerley also lost a fumble last week in Miami, but had lost only one before that in his seven-year career.

"Can't put the ball on the ground," Jets head coach Todd Bowles said. "The returner, the No. 1 thing is protecting the football."

Protecting the football was something Ryan had a lot of trouble doing early in the game as the rain poured. He lost two fumbles on quarterback-center exchanges in the first quarter, the second of which led to Chandler Catanzaro's field goal that gave the Jets a 10-7 lead.

Ryan, who plays his home games indoors, had four fumbles (he recovered one himself and the other was on a 2-point try) and was seen practicing snaps with center Alex Mack numerous times on the sideline. He had a towel under his jersey late in the game in an effort to keep his hands dry and he also tried gloves. The Falcons even went to more shotgun snaps in the second half to try to fix the problem.

"That was some of the hardest conditions I've played in, just for the length of the game," said Ryan, who played his college ball in the northeast at Boston College. "Really from kickoff 'til the end of the game, it was coming down pretty hard."

A quirk in the schedule pitted the defending NFC champs against AFC East opponents in the last four weeks. Atlanta (4-3) blew halftime leads at home against Buffalo and Miami and then were embarrassed in New England last week, 23-7. The Falcons entered the game having scored seven points in the last six quarters, and the rough weather was nothing new for them after playing in dense fog last Sunday night against the Patriots.

"We've had some interesting conditions the last two weeks," said Ryan, who finished 18-for-29 for 254 yards and his first multi-touchdown passing effort since Week 3. "To find a way to get the job done after not doing that the last couple weeks was huge for us."

The Jets, who blew 14-point leads each of the last two weeks, never trailed until Ryan scrambled and found Sanu in the back of the end zone to give them a 22-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. Tevin Coleman set up the score with a season-long 52-yard run.

Sanu got up and started jawing at Jets rookie safety Jamal Adams, who was in coverage and still on the ground, but said after the game he was "just having fun."

Added Sanu about his emotions after his second touchdown catch of the season: "It was on a 10."

The Falcons went for two, but again, Ryan fumbled the snap.

The Jets went up 17-10 with 2:26 left in the first half when Josh McCown hit wide receiver Robby Anderson on a fade down the right sideline for a 24-yard touchdown. The speedster Anderson, who also had a long touchdown last week in Miami, had his first career 100-yard receiving game, finishing with six catches for 104 yards. Bryant hit a field goal to end the first half and again late in the third to make it a one-point game going into the fourth quarter.

For the third week in a row, McCown opened the scoring with a touchdown pass, this time a 20-yard floater to tight end Eric Tomlinson on a seam route. It was Tomlinson's first touchdown since his senior year at UTEP in 2014 when he coincidentally scored in Manhattan ... Kansas (the home of Kansas State).

The Falcons tied the game 7-7 when Ryan hit tight end Austin Hooper in the back of the end zone. It was the fourth straight week the Jets allowed a touchdown catch to an opposing tight end.

It was the first lead the Jets gave up on Sunday, but not the last. And it helped the Falcons finally get back on track.

"Outside there was a lot of noise, but there wasn't inside," said Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn, who, like Sanu, is a New Jersey native. "That kind of resiliency, that kind of toughness is what this group stands for. They support one another like crazy and that's the time you do lean on one another, when it's not going as well as you want."

NOTES: Falcons OLB Vic Beasley Jr. was shaken up on the first drive of the game, but he returned on the Jets' next possession. ... Falcons K Matt Bryant, after missing two field goals and having another blocked the last three weeks, made all four of his field-goal tries. ... Falcons DT Ahtyba Rubin was injured in the fourth quarter on the same play he was called for roughing the passer. ... Falcons DE Takkarist McKinley was also injured in the fourth quarter. ... Jets RB Elijah McGuire replaced the inactive ArDarius Stewart as the kickoff returner. He had three returns for 67 yards. ... Jets LB Jordan Jenkins recovered a fumble, his first this season and second of his career. ... Jets SS Jamal Adams recovered the first fumble of his career. ... Jets DE Muhammad Wilkerson, who had 40.5 career sacks coming into the game, recorded his first sack of the season, and the first this season for a Jets defensive lineman. ... Jets DL Ed Stinson left in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return.