That thing was ugly. I did not enjoy much of the second half while working the game from the sideline. I’m sure watching on TV had that “gouge your eyes out with a spoon” feeling.
I don’t want to bother diving in to any of the officiating. The NFL rulebook is built too thick and overstuffed. This crew appeared to try and make a call from every chapter. They did succeed in setting a new league high for penalties in one game this season with 22. Those were just the flags that were accepted.
It was so bad, there’s no way to separate which team got the better of it. From ticky-tack to terrible, both teams had a healthy dose. Let’s just move on.
There was still plenty weird beyond the officiating. The Jets had not allowed an offense 20 points in the last four games, but gave that up to the Bills in a half. The same Bills who had 110 yards rushing in a half, and that was without star running back James Cook.
Buffalo had allowed only three receivers to reach 100 yards in their last 23 games. They allowed two in this game alone. The kicker for each team missed twice. The Bills had a PAT blocked. The Jets bounced balls off an upright at each end of the stadium.
Of course, the world’s worst Hail Mary defense also struck again. This time, Sean McDermott said they had a defensive call designed to prevent throws to the sideline that might move the Jets closer for a field goal try. The Hail Mary attempt, apparently, took Buffalo by surprise. The Bills won the game, so they get off the hook for this. Still seems like preventing a 60-yard TD throw with multiple bodies around the ball should have a higher success rate.
That Hail Mary TD was only one of the items that had the Bills shaking their head in the locker room afterward. The phrase, “things to clean up” was quite popular anytime a microphone was nearby.
There was also plenty of good. With Ray Davis at the top of the list.
The rookie runner carried six consecutive times (if you ignore the QB penalty) for 48 yards on an opening drive that hammered home which team was going to be more physical in this game. Davis added a spectacular 42 yard reception when Josh Allen realized he had a free play in the second quarter. His 152 total yards were the most by any NFL rookie this season.
I really liked watching Davis bounce a couple runs to the outside in the second half. He showed vision, patience and control. He’s an older rookie at 24 years old and played like a more mature player. He’s also runs with toughness. There’s a punch that makes him hard to bring down. Davis is certainly a guy who demands more touches even when Cook does get healthy.
The offensive line in front of Davis deserves a giant bouquet of flowers and they’re a big reason why I thought Buffalo could survive without Cook. When the Bills run game is on, it’s the front five (and Joe Brady) carving up lightly defended boxes. There are lots of running backs who could succeed behind it. Davis added his own flavor, but this is a meal the Bills are serving fairly regularly. Allen also stayed pretty clean throwing the ball. There’s no question the better OL in this game was wearing blue and red.
All the above allowed Allen to live exactly where I think the Bills want him. He did make a few superstar level plays. The throw to Davis for one. The last run of the game that McDermott admitted was mostly an Allen ad-lib is another. More important, Allen converted all three Bills red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Two of which came in a third and long situation. One followed a Houdini-like escape from pressure because Allen knows no other way.
Otherwise, Allen’s game was about efficiency through the air. He completed 76% of his passes, averaging 8.6 yards a throw. In nine drives, the Bills had a scoring chance on five and closed on the game on another. There was no demanding Allen carry the offense. Buffalo just needed him to get a few possessions across the goal line.
Which is one place the Jets could not get in the second half. Of all the reasons Buffalo won this game, I don’t think the red zone defense is going to get enough credit. When things wavered a bit for Buffalo in the third quarter, the Jets got inside the Buffalo five yard-line twice. Those two drives netted three total points. Breece Hall topped 100 yards, but the Jets were only brave enough to give him one carry inside the 15 yard line all night.
Buffalo’s re-assembled secondary did the rest and Taylor Rapp had the play of the night from that group. The bone-rattling, yet clean hit on Garrett Wilson to jar away a go-ahead touchdown requires precise execution in any game. With the officiating crew working Monday night, it was more like threading a needle. Rapp later duplicated the feat separating a Jets tight end from a nice gain one snap before Taron Johnson’s interception. By the way, not too shabby for Buffalo to have their all-pro nickel corner back, right? Eight tackles and another pass break up for Johnson to go with the INT, if you need him.
Some issues did re-appear in this game. Bills receivers combined for all of 97 yards, with over a third of that coming on an Allen backyard scramble play to Curtis Samuel. The Bills are going to need another player on the outside if they want to contend for something beyond the division. Probably a pretty good one. Even when everybody eats, the portion sizes remain too small against better defenses.
It’s also time to move from Tyler Bass. I take seriously that this means someone will lose their job and perhaps their career. He’s now missed kicks in four of six games and it’s only a matter of time before that costs Buffalo a win. The writing may be on the wall about a potential change. McDermott was asked about his confidence level in Bass after the game and did not express any. The head coach’s answer was simply, “He knows he needs to make those kicks.”
The sledding has been rather rough for the Bills the last few weeks. As expected. Three consecutive games on the road against perceived good teams (the Jets remain a question mark, at best, in this department) would be a test for anyone. It’s either the toughest or second toughest stretch of the Bills schedule.
Buffalo emerges with a game and a half lead in the division by record. Add in road wins against each of their top two division rivals and that lead swells, in reality, to two and a half games.
I still don’t know if this Buffalo team is going to be a real Super Bowl threat. It’ll probably take until after Brandon Beane works whatever trade deadline magic he has in store and, even then, it’ll be few weeks to incorporate any new addition.
What seems like a lock, barring some unforeseen meltdown, is that the Bills are going to be a division champion for the fifth consecutive year. They are going to start the playoffs with a home game. Maybe more than one.
And in that, Bills fans can find some beauty in the monstrosity we all had to sit through Monday night.