ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 23-20 victory against the New York Jets Monday night at MetLife Stadium:
1. Games don’t get much uglier or more bizarre than this, thanks in no small part to an overzealous officiating crew. But the Bills came away with a much-needed win to end a brutal three-game road stretch.
Twenty-two penalties (11 for each side), a combined three missed field goals and an extra point, a Hail Mary Jets touchdown just before time expired in the first half made for plenty of head-scratching and head-shaking moments.
Regardless of how it looked, though, it could very well go down as one of the Bills’ more important triumphs of the regular season. Besides snapping a two-game losing streak, the Bills also improved their record to 4-2. That gives them a 2 ½-game lead in the AFC East because of the victories they have over the 2-3 Dolphins and 2-4 Jets. The outcome put to rest, at least for a week, the mounting doubt about just how good the Bills really are after sprinting to a 3-0 start.
“I thought it was a gritty win,” Sean McDermott said. “We’ve got a lot to clean up. We’ve got to be more disciplined. We can’t beat ourselves. We’ve got to go back and re-examine the situational thing at the end of the half.”
Perhaps there will still be some lingering questions, but there were more than a few parts of the Bills’ performance Monday night to like. That included a remarkable interception by nickel defensive back Taron Johnson to help close out the game with 1:52 left. Returning to action after missing four games with an injured forearm, Johnson snagged the ball while falling on top of receiver Mike Williams, who was on the ground ready to make the catch, and Johnson rolled over to secure it.
The Bills were able to kill off the remaining time thanks to a six-yard Josh Allen run on third-and-four with 59 seconds remaining.
2. The run only was a small part of the clutch play of Josh Allen, who rebounded in a big way after one of the worst showings of his career in the previous game and two subpar efforts in a row.
Allen was, well, more like Allen. He threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a TD. His most impressive throw was a patented rollout-to-the-right-and-get-almost-to-the-sideline heave to rookie running back Ray Davis for a 42-yard gain. That set up Allen’s eight-yard scoring throw to Mack Hollins to make it 13-10 in the second quarter.
Allen’s game wasn’t so much about being spectacular. It was more about efficient, though he did have a fumble while making a poor decision to throw while in the clutches of a defender. Offensive guard O’Cyrus Torrence pounced on the ball to keep the Bills alive deep in Jet territory and Allen finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown toss to Dawson Knox.
For Allen, it was a great opportunity to reset and reestablish himself as the top-level quarterback his talent says he is.
“Josh was seeing the game, he was seeing their defensive looks and going through his progressions, getting the ball out when he needed to,” McDermott said.
3. So much for all the concern about the Bills’ ability to exploit the Jets’ poor run defense without James Cook, whose injured toe caused him to miss the first game of his career.
Enter Ray Davis.
The rookie was sensational. He finished with a team-leading 97 yards on 20 carries, an average of 4.9 yards per rush. He also caught three passes for 55 yards.
It was no surprise the Bills came out rushing on their first drive, with eight runs for 56 yards. It began with Ty Johnson bolting for 12 yards on Buffalo’s first play from scrimmage. After that, it was the Ray Davis Show, as he ran six times during the possession for 48 yards. That included runs of 14 and 15 yards and a five-yard carry to the Jets’ 1, setting up Allen to barrel into the end zone.
“That was something we really wanted to do, we stressed all week, going out there and taking it to them,” Davis said. “You know, taking the physicality to them, understanding that maybe some guys may not want to tackle. So it was about just going out there and bringing the physicality, lowering your pads, running behind your pads and getting those tough, tough yards. Two to three yards may turn into four to five and it may turn into an explosive play.”
Johnson finished with 34 yards on four attempts, reinforcing the fact the Bills have every reason to feel great about their depth at running back.
4. We found out just how much the Bills were missing without safety Taylor Rapp, who sat out last week’s loss at Houston with a concussion, and Taron Johnson in their secondary.
Rapp made three huge plays that prevented touchdowns. One was chasing down Breece Hall at the Buffalo 3-yard line after the Jet back covered 42 yards on what looked like a sure breakaway score. A few plays later, Rapp separated receiver Garrett Wilson from the ball in the end zone, forcing the Jets to settle for a field goal that put the game in a 20-20 knot in the third quarter.
Rapp’s third big play was when he blanketed Jeremy Ruckert well enough for Rodgers to fail to complete a third-down pass to the tight end.
Johnson’s overall pass coverage and interception at the end of the game was an example of the type of play the Bills were lacking the previous two weeks.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out the secondary for failing to knock down Rodgers’ 52-yard throw to the end zone just before halftime. Instead, Allen Lazard was able to grab it for a touchdown that cut a 10-point lead to three.
5. I’m saving the game’s two ugliest aspects for last. They were the officiating and the kicking.
Adrian Hill and his crew were far too large a factor in the game. It reached a point in the fourth quarter where every play drew a yellow flag – or you were expecting to see one.
Both teams had reason to believe they were wronged by terrible calls. The absolute worst was when Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa was flagged for roughing the passer when he did nothing more than make a garden variety sack of Rodgers. There was nothing about the play that looked illegal.
Some penalties, such as multiple false starts, were legit. So, too, was Dion Dawkins getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty between the third and fourth quarters. Dawkins has been vocal in his negative feelings toward the Jets and his emotions apparently spilled over at that moment.
The Jets had more than their share of gripes with the officiating as well. They were called for a pass-interference penalty that came with a ball that had no chance of being caught and a hold on what could have been a go-ahead TD run by Braelon Allen.
The flags made the game almost unwatchable at times. The NFL needs to do a thorough review of this game and recognize that this should not be allowed, especially in prime time.
Now, for the kicking. The Bills MUST move on from Tyler Bass. Despite providing the winning field goal with 3:43 left Monday night, he has shown, once again, he is unreliable.
In the second quarter, Bass had his second blocked extra point of the season, though the ball appeared to be shanking before contacting the hand of Quinnen Williams.
Bass also was wide right on a 47-yard field-goal try in the third quarter. About the only thing that prevented his night from being worse was that his Jets counterpart, Greg Zuerlein, missed two field goals, each doinking off the left upright.