Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
NFL: Buffalo Bills at New York Jets
The New York Jets served the Buffalo Bills just their second loss of the season with a 20-17 victory at Metlife Stadium yesterday.
Not only did the Jets break the Bills five game winning streak but the Jets secondary put Stefon Diggs’s three game streak of 100 plus yards receiving and a touchdown to a halt. Diggs finished the game with 93 yards on five catches but was held to just a single reception in the entire second half. Cornerbacks Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and DJ Reed simply put, shut him down. Gardner turned the tide of the entire game in the second half.
The Bills first drive of the second half was brought to a screeching halt courtesy of “Sauce” Gardner. On second and 17 there was miscommunication between Josh Allen and wide receiver Gabriel Davis, and Allen threw a dart right into the hands of Gardner. The rookie set the Jets offense up with excellent field position at the Buffalo 19 yard line. Quarterback Zach Wilson then went 19 yards in four plays and found his newly acquired weapon James Robinson for a nine yard touchdown to take a 17-14 lead.
Quarterback Josh Allen was under duress on multiple occasions in the second half. The Jets defensive pressure was able to get home twice on the Bills second to last drive with the game still tied at 17 a piece. Linebacker CJ Mosley got the first and rookie defensive end Jermaine Johnson prevented Josh Allen from potentially getting big yardage with his feet. However, the most important play of that drive came from cornerback DJ Reed. Reed made a touchdown saving play against Stefon Diggs and broke up the pass on 3rd and 14 to force the Bills to punt.
The Jets defense was able to limit Josh Allen, who averages 314 passing yards per game, to 205 yards, zero touchdown passes, and forced him to throw two interceptions. The defensive pressure got home when it mattered most. Jets defensive lineman Bryce Huff strip sacked Allen on the final drive of the game to set up an unmanageable third and 21. Ahmad Gardner then put the nail in the coffin by breaking up the pass deep downfield that was intended for Bills wide receiver Gabriel Davis on fourth down.
“I feel like the communication has been so good and the precision in which we’re playing in the backend has been so much better than a year ago. When you mix in that rush and coverage and obviously Brich,” head coach Robert Saleh told the media in the postgame.
As for the Jets offense in this game, they were just one for five on third down in the first half and could not get into any sort of rhythm until their fourth drive. Through the first three drives the Jets totaled just 92 yards and put up three points. The fourth drive is when the Jets were able to hit paydirt when Wilson led them 75 yards in 13 plays. Running back Michael Carter punched it in for six from six yards out to pull the Jets within four points.
One of the most peculiar things occurred in this game as well and head coach Robert Saleh referred to it as “Skycam-Gate”. There was a malfunction with the skycam camera and it ended up delaying the game for more than ten minutes. In turn, just a few plays after play resumed, quarterback Zach Wilson was strip sacked by Bills edge rusher Von Miller. However, Wilson and his offense were able to maintain composure despite the turnover. He finished the game going 18 for 25, throwing for 154 yards, and one touchdown.
The Jets improved on the ground as the game progressed, especially in the backend of the game. The running back duo of Michael Carter and James Robinson churned major minutes off of the clock in the fourth quarter specifically. The Jets worked a six minute and ten second drive, churning the clock down all the way down to the 1:43 mark. Kicker Greg Zuerline then kicked the go-ahead field goal to put Gang Green out in front, 20-17. The Jets are now just a game back out of first place in the AFC East.
The green and white are going into their bye week and will pick things back up in New England on November 20th against the Patriots at 1:00 p.m.
Things to Note:
- Wilson went down in the first quarter after taking a shot from defensive tackle Daquan Jones who then landed on Wilson’s ankle. However, Wilson told the media after the game “It’s not a big deal. I’m healthy, I’m good”.
- Wide receiver Garrett Wilson caught eight passes on nine targets for 92 yards and has been far and away Wilson’s favorite target.
