Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

New York Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith showed his worth on Monday Night football in a tough road game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Smith beat Matt Ryan to lead the Jets to a 31-28 lead. He showed great decision making ability and poise, leading the Jets into field goal range late in the fourth quarter, leading to a Nick Folk 43-yard field goal as time expired to give the Jets the win.

Smith completed 80 percent of his passes and threw three touchdowns with zero interceptions.

Many questioned the rookie when he first took over the starting job from incumbent quarterback Mark Sanchez, but he appears to be adjusting well and has lead the Jets to a 3-2 record after five weeks.

The Falcons were heavily favored in this game and the Jets did what nobody expected them to do, win.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if Smith will continue to grow, or if the incompetence of Jets head coach Rex Ryan will have a negative affect on him. Regardless, the Jets needed a boost, and Smith has proven that he can win games and possibly be the answer they needed to rejuvenate their franchise.

Keeping Smith away from Sanchez and not allowing him to have any negative influence over the rookie will be the key to him moving forward. Sanchez is a joke of a quarterback and should be released by the Jets in order for them to start freeing up some salary-cap space for next season to add talent to surround Smith.

The rookie proved tonight that he has the talent and potential to be a good quarterback in this league, and hopefully the Jets organization does what’s best for his future.