Monday Night Football was something.
There were 22 accepted penalties, a few questionable and a few more ticky-tack, for 204 yards to go along with a Hail Mary at the end of the first half, four missed kicks and a combined 752 yards. The Bills held on for a 23-20 victory over the Jets.
Buffalo moved to 4-2, while the Jets fell to 2-4.
The Jets, playing their first game with Jeff Ulbrich as interim head coach and Todd Downing as the play caller, will bemoan the chances they didn’t capitalize on. Greg Zuerlein missed field goals of 32 and 43 yards off the left upright in the second half, and the Jets scored only one touchdown and 13 total points in four red zone opportunities.
The Jets’ final opportunity ended with 1:52 left. Taylor Rapp and Taron Johnson made big defensive plays on back-to-back plays for the Bills, allowing Buffalo to run out the clock. Rapp knocked the ball loose from Jeremy Ruckert on second-and-16, and Johnson, returning from a forearm injury, made a spectacular interception in taking the ball away from Mike Williams at the Buffalo 18.
The Jets had an opportunity to get the ball back, but on third-and-4, Josh Allen ran around left end for a 6-yard gain before sliding down. That put the Bills in victory formation.
Allen contributed three total touchdowns, all in the first half, as he threw an 8-yard touchdown to Mack Hollins and a 12-yard touchdown to Dawson Knox and ran for a 1-yard touchdown. Allen was 19-of-25 for 215 yards. Ray Davis, subbing for injured starting running back James Cook, had 23 touches for 152 yards.
The Bills’ only points of the second half came on a 22-yard Tyler Bass field goal with 3:43 to go. But Bass also missed a 47-yard field goal and a PAT.
The Bills had a comfortable 20-10 lead on the final play of the first half when Aaron Rodgers threw a Hail Mary that AllenLazard pulled down for a miracle, 52-yard touchdown. Zuerlein tied the game with a 22-yard field goal with 6:13 left in the third quarter, but the Jets blew their chances to take the lead.
Rodgers was 23-of-35 for 294 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He had a 5-yard touchdown throw to Garrett Wilson, who caught eight passes for 107 yards. Lazard made six catches for 114 yards.
The Jets lost safety Chuck Clark (ankle), who was replaced by Ashtyn Davis, and cornerback D.J. Reed (groin), who was replaced by Brandin Echols.
