October 16, 2024

Jets vs. Bills Game Recap: Jets cost themselves again

By Bailey Justin
Aaaron Rodgers , Allen Lazard , Breece Hall , Buffalo Bills , Garrett Wilson , Greg Zuerlein , Josh Allen , New York Jets , NFL

Monday Night Football was a night full of penalties, missed field goals, and a tough defeat for the New York Jets, who lost to the Buffalo Bills, 23-20.

The Jets are now 2-4 on the season. They are officially on life support, as the wins need to start racking up if they want any shot of making the postseason for the first time in 13 years.  

As we discussed in the game preview, the Jets needed to come out this game hot, which they did, to be fair. They drove the ball down the field with good pace. It was all going well until a Breece Hall dropped pass caused them to settle for three points. Once again, it was a simple mistake shooting the Jets in the foot. That was the theme of this game. 

In Buffalo’s opening drive, they easily went down the field, just running the ball over New York. This has been a recurring theme for this team: being unable to stop the run. Even with starting running back James Cook out, the Bills had no problem establishing the run. 

The end result of the drive was Josh Allen scoring a goal-line rushing touchdown to put Buffalo up 7-3. The Jets’ run defense was not off to a hot start. The offense came into play, though, early as they continued to move the ball down the field on Buffalo with motion and creativity through the passing game. This is something the fans have been begging for as they finally see the difference with Todd Downing as offensive coordinator.

The Jets’ drive ended with an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson, putting the Jets up 10-7. They had the lead to end the first quarter. 

The second quarter was not the Jets’ quarter, as mental mistakes started piling up, and questionable calls from the refs would halt New York’s momentum. Buffalo controlled the entire quarter and Josh Allen was having a simple, easy game through the air. Buffalo continued to dominate the run game. Just like that, near the end of the half, Buffalo was up 20-10 after Allen threw two touchdown passes. Things were looking dire for the Jets.

After a few key passes by Rodgers, the Jets found themselves near midfield with eight seconds left on the clock and a chance for a Hail Mary, a play Rodgers has completed many other times in his career. Buffalo only rushed two players on the play, giving Rodgers time to make a play, which he did. In an unbelievable turn of events, Rodgers hit Lazard in the endzone for the last-second touchdown. 

It was a 20-17 game at the half as Buffalo still led, but the end of the first half felt like a momentum shifter for the Jets. After a bad second quarter, the Jets were still only down three and in the game. They would have a chance to play a big second half and pull this game out. 

Buffalo opened the half, continuing to run the ball right down the field, with Allen making the occasional throw. However, New York’s defense got a key stop, forcing Buffalo to go for three. It was a windy night at MetLife, which would play a factor for the rest of this game as Tyler Bass missed the kick. Keeping this a 20-17 game, the Jets would have a chance to capitalize. 

New York’s run game started to open up on their next drive. They were still struggling with it mostly in the first half, but then Breece Hall was able to break off a huge run all the way down to the three-yard line, putting the Jets on the goal line with a chance to take the lead. 

This was the big run Jet fans have been waiting for out of Breece. He probably could have cut the run back up the middle and scored, but regardless, this big run put the Jets in a great spot. 

New York did not take advantage of the long run, failing to score a touchdown on any of their three attempts. This was a problem all night for the Jets, as they went 1-for-4 in the red zone. That stat was going to and did cost New York in the end. They had to settle for three and tie the game up at 20.

The Jets were able to stop Buffalo once again on the next drive, as the defense certainly stepped up in the second half after a rough first half. The Jets’ offense took the ball and was humming again. They moved the ball down the field pretty easily, Rodgers was in sync with Wilson and Allen Lazard all night as both guys went over one hundred yards receiving for the game. 

New York again had it down at the goal line, looking to score a touchdown. On third down, they called a fullback dive to running back Braelon Allen, which resulted in a touchdown. But the flags came out again as the touchdown was called back due to holding on left tackle Tyron Smith, who had a tough game and struggled all season. 

Rodgers couldn’t connect with Wilson in the endzone on another third-down attempt, which meant the Jets had to settle for three again. Nope, Greg Zuerlein missed the 32-yard chip shot, costing them three points and keeping this game tied going into the fourth quarter. 

New York’s defense stepped up again, getting Buffalo off the field and giving the offense another shot to take the lead. The Jets had a few big plays, including a big pass from Rodgers to Lazard, which allowed them to convert a third-and-11. The Jets’ offense stalled out after a bad delay in the game penalty, but they were still in field goal range. Zuerlein had a chance to hit a 43-yard kick to put the Jets up three. He doinked it off the goalpost as the Jets were unable to capitalize. The Jets failed to put up points in Buffalo territory on back-to-back drives. 

The missed field goal put Buffalo in good field position to make a game-winning drive. New York’s defense held its own in the second half, but it couldn’t do it one last time as Buffalo drove down the field without a sweat. The Jets got a goal-line stop, causing Buffalo to go for three. Bass, this time, hit the kick, putting Buffalo up 23-20. 

The Jets would still have roughly four minutes to put a drive together to either win or tie the game. The drive started off in disaster, as Rodgers was hit on a throw that was originally ruled a fumble and Buffalo’s ball. The call did get it overturned, though, and from there, the Jets began to drive the ball down the field. 

In the end, a questionable holding call derailed the drive, leading to a Rodgers’ interception after he threw it deep to Mike Williams, who slipped on the route. 

The Jets couldn’t get a stop as Buffalo picked up a first down off of an Allen run. This officially put the Jets down as they fell to their division rival.

What if I told you Rodgers almost threw for 300 yards and that Wilson and Lazard had over one hundred yards receiving? That Hall had over one hundred yards rushing and the Jets had four red zone appearances. You would think there was no way the Jets lost that game. Yet they still found a way to lose it. 

Not being able to put the ball in the endzone, committing penalties at the worst times, two missed field goals, and a defense that couldn’t stop the run or make anything difficult for Allen results in a loss. Allen didn’t have a flashy game but was efficient and made everything simple for Buffalo. The Jets’ pass rush felt nonexistent against Allen. There was not one moment in the game where it felt like the defense could cause a big turnover on Allen. That was something the Jets needed to do.

Even with Allen having no turnovers, New York still had every chance to win this game. The offense looked good and they moved the ball down the field. The running game still needs work, but they at least got something out of it. Rodgers was in rhythm all night with Wilson and Lazard. They just couldn’t finish drives, primarily because of penalties. 

The Jets and Bills combined had 22 penalties, with New York picking up 11 for one hundred and ten yards. This has been a theme for New York: undisciplined football. Not every penalty was a good call by the refs, but 11 penalties, no matter what, are just not good. It cost them drives where they were moving the ball, and most importantly, it outright cost them a touchdown that could have won them the game. 

The Jets had more total yards, passing yards, and yards per play than Buffalo and still lost. In this league, you can’t let points go off the board. You have to score touchdowns when you’re at the goal line, and you can’t miss field goals late in games. 

These simple mistakes continue to cost the Jets. Now, at 2-4, they are on life support. If they go 2-5, the season is pretty much over. They have to rack up some wins. 

The good news is that on Tuesday morning, it was officially announced that the Jets had traded for wide receiver Davante Adams from the Las Vegas Raiders. After weeks of rumors, Adams will finally reunite with Rodgers. Adams should be ready to go for Sunday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  

Can he be the difference to help turn the season around? Only time will tell, but the Jets still need to fix other areas of their game. They need to continue to get the run game going and stop the run on defense. Adams should help greatly, but the Jets need to cut down on penalties and simple mistakes if they want to go on a run.

About the Author

Bailey Justin