The new-look Jets made plenty of changes since their last game eight days ago, but a lot of their most concerning issues remained. Most importantly, the outcome was familiar as New York wasted one of its best offensive performances of the season and came up short against a divisional rival.
With Jeff Ulbrich as the new head coach and Todd Downing calling plays on offense, Aaron Rodgers had his best game as a Jet as Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard all had 100-yard games. However, leaky run defense, poor tackling and a high penalty count allowed the Bills to hang around for a win that dropped the Jets to 2-4 on the season.
Despite giving up a Josh Allen touchdown run on Buffalo’s first drive, the Jets led 10-7 midway through the second quarter, following a Rodgers touchdown pass to Wilson. However, Allen’s touchdown passes to Mack Hollins and Dawson Knox put the Bills ahead 20-10 with just 21 seconds to go in the first half.
The Jets hit back on Rodgers’ incredible Hail Mary pass to Lazard for a 52-yard touchdown as time expired and tied the game on a Greg Zuerlein field goal in the third quarter, but then were unable to take the lead as Zuerlein missed two go-ahead field goals.
Tyler Bass, who himself had missed two kicks, gave Buffalo the lead with 3:43 remaining on a chip shot field goal. Rodgers was intercepted by Taron Johnson on the ensuing possession, as the intended receiver Mike Williams slipped trying to come back for the underthrown pass.
Here are the key takeaways…
– With the starting offensive line restored thanks to Morgan Moses’ return, Hall had a bounce-back game this week, as he was productive both in the passing game and as a runner with 169 yards from scrimmage. There were still some lapses up front, though, and Rodgers took some tough hits.
– Rodgers’ connection with Wilson seemed a lot more natural this week as the pair connected with several big plays without the need to try to force the ball to him. It’s difficult to know whether the new playcaller selection had a positive impact or if this was just a natural progression from how their connection started to develop in the second half of last week’s game. Lazard was the only other wideout to catch a pass.
– The Jets really struggled to stop the run, especially at the start of the game when Buffalo marched downfield for their first touchdown with eight runs for 61 yards on a nine-play drive. That was despite the fact that James Cook, the Bills’ leading rusher, did not play due to injury. Rookie Ray Davis had 97 of the Bills’ 149 rushing yards.
– Safety Chuck Clark hasn’t made a big impact this season, but the Jets sure seemed to miss him when he went down with an early ankle injury. Clark’s replacement, Ashtyn Davis, made a number of mistakes including getting beaten for a touchdown in coverage.
– CJ Mosley returned to New York’s lineup, but the Jets opted to use him only in base packages with Jamien Sherwood remaining in a full-time role. New York, which also had Leki Fotu and Jalen Mills making their Jets debut, was also forced into a late change due to a DJ Reed groin injury. Brandin Echols replaced him.
– Down 10 in the closing seconds of the first half, the Hail Mary seemed like it could be just to kind of play to change the Jets’ fortunes, but they didn’t really take their opportunities in the second half, as they scored just three points.
– There was a crucial sequence at the end of the third quarter with the score tied as Braelon Allen’s would-be go-ahead touchdown was negated by a holding penalty, then the ball was knocked away from Wilson in the end zone on third down. The Jets settled for a 32-yard field goal to take the lead, only for Zuerlein’s kick to hit the upright in heavy winds.
– One thing that didn’t seem to improve as a result of the coaching changes was the Jets’ on-field discipline. Once again, they were into double digits in terms of penalties, as were the Bills in a sloppy game. A lot of the ones against the Jets were costly, though, extending Buffalo drives or negating positive offensive plays. The teams combined for over 200 penalty yards, a season-high.
Highlights
What’s next
The Jets (2-4) are back in the national spotlight as they travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers (4-2) on Sunday Night Football for an 8:20 p.m. kickoff.
