ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takes from the Buffalo Bills’ 32-6 victory against the New York Jets on Sunday at Highmark Stadium:
1. It isn’t a stretch to say the Bills saved their season … at least for the time being.
A third consecutive loss and fifth in seven games would have been crushing, both to their spirit and chances of reaching the postseason. The Bills could not have afforded to suffer a sixth AFC loss and third in the division, especially on a day when they received no tie-breaking help elsewhere.
“We just found a way to respond from the last two weeks,” Jordan Poyer said. “That’s what this game is, that’s what life is, being able to respond in adverse situations, kind of backs against the wall. It’s just the type of team that we have. We put in a good week of practice and it showed today.”
“We came in here, and we knew we were going to need a team effort, and we really hadn’t played team football over the last X-amount of weeks, with the turnovers and whatnot,” Sean McDermott said. “So, the guys were adamant and intentional about making sure that we played good team football.”
Beating up on a lousy Jets club doesn’t mean the Bills have redeemed themselves. However, this was an important get-well win that at least gives them a bit of momentum entering a brutal stretch of games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys.
“I think our team was energetic, as we need to be,” Josh Allen said. “You know, a lot of that, for better or worse, can come from the quarterback. So, just making that a point of emphasis throughout the week like, ‘Let’s have fun playing this game. It’s football, at the end of the day. We get to do, in my opinion, the most amazing job on the planet, and let’s come out here and play football.’ ”
2. Sean McDermott received some much-needed validation for firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey the day after the Bills’ embarrassing loss against Denver last Monday night.
The move felt like an act of desperation to serve up a convenient scapegoat. The timing was easy to second guess, considering the short week of preparation for Joe Brady, who was promoted from quarterbacks coach to interim OC.
But the point total (the most since the 48-20 triumph against Miami on Oct. 1 and a season-high allowed by the Jets) and 393 net yards were notable, particularly under the circumstances. The Bills’ offense didn’t immediately show a sudden power surge, producing three field goals before generating a first touchdown on the way to a 16-0 halftime lead. Josh Allen still was off the mark on some throws in the first half before settling down the rest of the way.
“Wasn’t an easy week, I’ll tell you that,” Allen said. “I’m proud of everybody that stepped up and filled roles that they maybe they didn’t expect to fill this year. You know, that's Joe, that’s Shuls (David Shula), that’s Kyle Shurmur, that’s Mark Lubick, it’s the whole entire offensive staff pulling together. Again, it’s not easy to do that.”
Allen threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns, including an NFL season-long 81-yard connection with Khalil Shakir, who made a nifty move to break free for the end zone. With 205 career offensive TDs (159 passing, 45 rushing, one receiving), Allen has set an NFL record for a player’s first six seasons.
The Bills also ran for 130 yards, with James Cook accounting for a game-high 73 on 17 carries. Latavius Murray chipped in 35 yards on 10 attempts.
Seldom-used running back Ty Johnson also did some impressive running on a 28-yard TD reception.
“I hate to be a broken record, but this isn’t an offense that was broken,” Allen said. “We’ve been playing close to where we need to play and today it felt like we played close to … not as good as we can play, but we played obviously better. And that’s obviously a good thing to see, a good thing to feel to go out there and trust the guys around you. We were executing at a high level today and the offensive line, they played their tails off, man.
“I felt like I didn’t try to force anything, trusting the guys around me to make plays. And that’s what we did.”
3. I’m inclined to give props to the Bills’ defense, but it can’t be done without mentioning that the Jets’ offense is pathetic.
Zach Wilson, who has been the Jets’ starting quarterback since Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles in the Bills’ season-opening loss at MetLife Stadium, isn’t even a middle-of-the-road backup, let alone a QB1. He was benched in favor of Tim Boyle late in the third quarter.
Rasul Douglas intercepted a terrible Wilson pass to put the Bills at the Jets’ 23 with 5:19 left in the half. That set up a 5-yard Allen touchdown pass to James Cook to give the Bills a 16-0 lead in the second quarter. Douglas also intercepted Boyle and had a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter.
The Bills had six sacks, one by tackle Ed Oliver, giving him career season-high of six. Leonard Floyd had two-and-a-half sacks, giving him a team-leading seven for the season.
The Jets finished with 155 total yards and were 0-for-11 on third-down conversions. The Bills dominated time of possession, 36:51 to 23:09.
4. The victory could have proved costly for the Bills with more additions their already long defensive injury list.
Cornerbacks Dane Jackson and Taron Johnson leaving the game early with a concussion and head injury, respectively, and safety Taylor Rapp with a neck injury. Rapp left the field in an ambulance.
“It’s hard,” Poyer said. “Anytime anybody goes off on a stretcher, in an ambulance, on a cart, it’s tough. It’s part of the game that we play.”
McDermott had no updates on the injuries, beyond saying “just pray for those guys” and that Rapp was at home, “which is a good thing.”
Still, the last thing the Bills need is further depletion of their defense, especially with their toughest string of games ahead.
5. It was a mixed day for the Bills’ special teams, which needed to do something right after the 12-men-on-the-field penalty allowed the Broncos to kick the winning field goal Monday night.
They got off to a good start with Reggie Gilliam forcing a fumble on the opening kickoff to set up the Bills’ first field goal.
“I really thought that the opening kickoff set the tone for the entire game,” McDermott said.
However, the Jets did pull off a fake field goal from their own 24 that helped set up their lone score.
Tyler Bass made four goals. But he missed an extra point before connecting on a 50-yard field goal for the Bills' final points.