LONDON — A slow start and a late stumble sent the Jets home from their trip across the ocean with a loss and some big issues to figure out.

It had to be a long flight home for the Jets after a 27-20 loss to the Falcons in front of 60,589 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Jets fell behind by 17 points early, rallied to make it a three-point game late but fell short and are now 1-4 this season.

The Jets now have a bye week to figure things out, starting with why they continue to start so slow. The Jets have failed to score a point in the first quarter this season and have 79 total yards in the opening quarter this year through five games. On Sunday, they managed just 16 yards and went three-and-out on their first two possessions.

“I’m going to work my tail off over this bye week and see if there’s something that we can come up with,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “Study the tape. Look at all the decisions and execution and figure out what the answer is over this next week and come up with something because it’s got to be better.”

The Jets’ defense, which has been good this season, got picked apart early by Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (33 of 45, 342 yards, 2 TDs). Even though the Falcons were missing their top two receivers, they had no problem moving the ball in the first half and took a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter.

“Falling back in a hole early in the first half, it’s just hard to do that in this league no matter who you’re playing,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “When you get down that early that fast, it’s always hard to come back.”

Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson had a rough game. He went 19 of 32 for 192 yards and threw his NFL-worst ninth interception. Wilson struggled on some throws that should have been easy and never looked like he was in a rhythm. He completed only one pass in the first quarter.

“That’s the hard thing is when we start three-and-out, that’s what’s crushing us is going back on the sideline and sitting there again,” Wilson said. “We have to find some way to move the ball from the beginning and get that confidence going. We get some confidence going there at the end and you just see it in everybody, like we are able to move right down the field with no issues. That’s something there we have to figure out.”

Despite the slow start, the Jets pulled themselves back into the game in the second half. They cut a 20-3 deficit down to 20-17 after a 2-yard touchdown by rookie running back Michael Carter with 6:55 remaining to play.

The Jets then needed to get a stop from their defense to get the ball back with a shot at completing the comeback. Instead, the Falcons went 75 yards on nine plays and running back Mike Davis scored a 3-yard touchdown with 2:19 left to ice the game at 27-17. The touchdown was the Falcons’ only score in the second half. The Jets would add a late field goal to cut it to one score but could not recover the onside kick.

The Falcons’ game-sealing drive featured a 39-yard pass to Kyle Pitts caught between defensive backs Bryce Hall and Brandin Echols. The Falcons also converted a third-and-13 when Ryan found Olamide Zaccheaus for a 16-yard gain and a third-and-2 when Ryan connected with Cordarrelle Patterson for a 7-yard pass.

“When it’s the fourth quarter and the game is on the line, somebody has to close the game — whether it’s a coach making the perfect call, player making a play, somebody on the team has to make a play and that’s something that a young team will grow into,” Saleh said. “Like I said, you first have to learn how not to lose, and when you start to learn how to win, you have to learn how to close and those are examples of learning how to close and things that I think we’ll get better at.”

The Falcons (2-3) were playing without top receivers Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage, but they did not need them. Pitts, the No. 4-overall pick, had nine catches for 119 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Patterson had 114 total yards, killing the Jets early with both runs and receptions.

A week after sacking Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill seven times, the Jets did not sack Ryan once. The Falcons converted 9 of 14 third downs, including the two huge ones late in the game.

The Jets had some late success offensively but again struggled to find a rhythm. The Jets had 230 total yards in the game to the Falcons’ 451.

The Jets have the bye week to figure out ways to improve before facing the Patriots in two weeks in Foxborough.

“We just have to really look ourselves in the mirror when we watch the film ourselves and we watch together,” Mosley said. “It’s not going to be pretty. We left a lot of plays out there in all phases. We just have to be real with ourselves and figure out what we really need to do to turn this thing around.”