Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets
Final Score: BUF 23 – NYJ 20
Writer: Cesar Escajeda (@cescajeda13 on Twitter)
There were 22 combined penalties called on the night in what was supposed to be a statement victory at home for the turmoil-filled New York Jets after firing their coach. Instead, the Buffalo Bills came to East Rutherford and handled business without their star running back, claiming sole possession of the AFC East.
Three Up
- Ray Davis, RB (BUF) – The rookie got the call with star RB James Cook inactive with a toe injury, and made the most of every carry. He looked like a man on a mission, welcoming contact with every snap and barreling over defenders with prejudice to gain tough yards. It was a wildly impressive night against a very imposing Jets defense for the young back out of Kentucky, and one that may earn him even more playing time regardless of Cook returning.
- Josh Allen, QB (BUF) – After suffering a blow last week that drew ire around the league for how the Bills handled his concussion protocol, Allen didn’t miss a beat against the division rival Jets on Monday Night. He went toe-to-toe with QB Aaron Rodgers on the evening, scoring the first TD of the game with his legs and then adding two more through the air in the first half. He looked like the Allen we’ve come to expect with his performance in prime time, and showcased his skill on a final designed QB run to ice the win for Buffalo.
- Garrett Wilson, WR (NYJ) – Even in a loss, Wilson found a way to shine against the Bills secondary. Rodgers looked his way a team-leading 10 times, averaging 13.4 yards per catch. It was evident he and teammate Breece Hall would be the focal point of the new-look Jets offensive attack, and throughout the game he hauled in target after target to keep New York moving down the field. What was most encouraging was how he and Rodgers were willing to stretch the field, a criticism of late given Wilson’s lower average depth of target.
Three Down
- Aaron Rodgers, QB (NYJ) – It’s been an eventful week for the controversial veteran passer in New York. Questions have swirled about the abrupt nature of former head coach Robert Saleh‘s firing, and Rodgers has not been happy with the narrative surrounding his part in it. For a large part of the game, it did look like the correct decision for the Jets – the offense was moving, the play calling looked fresh, and the weaponry New York had to offer was in full and proper use. New York even had a miraculous Hail Mary lob that hit before halftime, the fourth of Rodgers long career. Que the second half, however, and it was all downhill from there. Rodgers did his best to try and seal the win at home, but between endless flags, constant harassment from defenders, and miscues by his receivers (and kicker), there was just no way around it all. His only interception on the night came off of WR Mike Williams slipping, and it pretty much summed up New York’s season to date on a single play. A win would have gone miles for the Jets – but now, the noise around them is likely to be even more deafening.
- Mike Williams, WR (NYJ) – I mention him here not just because of the slip he had on Rodgers game-sealing interception, but more so for the lack of chemistry he has had with the veteran QB after six games. It’s been two months of recovery and learning for the free agent acquisition from the Chargers, and while there have been flashes of the player he once was before his injury, it has fizzled out fast and he’s been a non-factor for the offense. It was on full display on Monday Night, going 0-3 on his only targets, the last one slamming the door on New York’s comeback hopes.
- “Ref Ball” – Ah, good ol’ ref ball. As mentioned before, a combined 22 penalties were called by the zebras in full display for the country in prime time. Some were correct, some were iffy at best, and some were downright soft and inexcusable. I understand the contentious nature of division games like this, but calling seemingly every play at times just takes the fun out of the experience.
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
Josh Allen: 19/25, 215 Yards, 2 TDs, 1 FUM | 9 Carries, 18 Yards, 1 TD
After a week of worry regarding the status of the star QB entering the week’s final game, Allen hit the ground running (quite literally) to power the win for the Bills.
His first possession following the Jets’ opening field goal was a nine play, 70 yard drive that culminated with a 1-yard rush down the left side of the offensive line for the score. The next Buffalo drive ended with a punt, but Allen and co. didn’t miss a beat after that, scoring two TD’s through the air on drives spanning the length of the field to push the Bills to an early lead. There was obviously worry that his injury last week against Houston (combined with James Cook missing the contest) would hamper the Buffalo offense, but it didn’t seem to affect him, even against a stout second-ranked New York defense entering the contest. The scoring stagnated a bit down the stretch in the second half, but still, Allen was able to move the Bills into position for the go-ahead field goal to claim the victory at MetLife Stadium.
Running Back
Ray Davis: 20 Carries, 97 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 55 Yards
The former Wildcat was lethal in his fill-in role for the Bills.
The rookie rusher to this point hadn’t had much room to shine behind star RB James Cook – but with the starter a last minute scratch with a busted toe, Davis took the chance and never looked back. His runs were absolutely brutal; with every handoff and target, he seemed to relish the contact, even look for it at times. When he wasn’t bullying defenders for large gains, he was gashing them with his speed – averaging 4.9 yards per carry and 13.5 yards per catch.
It’s not everyday that a rookie steals the spotlight in relief. I’m not about to say that there is any semblance of controversy over the starting role going forward – but it seems to me that the Bills should want to feature Davis a lot more down the stretch after a night like his.
Ty Johnson: 4 Carries, 34 Yards
Johnson was even more explosive per carry with his limited opportunities, but he quickly took a backseat to the Ray Davis show unfolding in New Jersey.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Dalton Kincaid: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 51 Yards
Kincaid led all Bills in targets on the night – a consolation prize considering the vultured TD his fellow TE took in.
The passing game numbers were evenly spread out across all of Allen’s options, but it was Kincaid at the forefront that helped move the chains time and time again down the stretch. The young TE did not have any gaudy numbers, but did the hard work for the Buffalo offense, earning chunk yard after chunk yard to help will the unit forward. It’s likely to be another disappointment for fantasy managers considering the hype he entered the season with, but Kincaid will have days – for now it was just enough to help his team get the win.
Curtis Samuel: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 44 Yards
What a randomly productive game by Samuel. It had been a handful of small yardage catches for the veteran before Allen uncorked a 38-yard bomb to him to open up the third quarter with a bang. This wasn’t his break-out game by any means, but it was encouraging to see his usage finally trend up in Buffalo.
Keon Coleman: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 26 Yards
The rookie wideout was fairly uninvolved until late in this one. I’d argue the gameplan just did not account for him as often as many would hope, though on his targets he did appear to have trouble separating from the defender. The whole situation seems to be on brand for the former Florida State Seminole – good games mixed with bad across the board. Good luck trying to find out which week will feature which, though.
Mack Hollins: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 8 Yards, 1 TD
There wasn’t a heaping of volume for the longtime WR, but he made the most of it early, hauling in a redzone target for the 8-yard score.
Dawson Knox: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 12 Yards, 1 TD
The veteran TE saw a single target and also turned it into a TD. Kincaid managers are surely in shambles.
Khalil Shakir: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 19 Yards
New York Jets
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers: 23/35, 294 Yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 FUM
I would argue this loss doesn’t fall squarely on the shoulders of Rodgers.
The longtime Packer-turned-Jet QB actually did well against the Bills in this one. With the changes at play calling and direction coming off of the surprise early-season firing of Saleh, the Jets offense was firing on all cylinders early, racking up 220 total yards of offense in the first half for the first time all season. This peaked right before halftime with the patented Rodgers’ Hail Mary lob, just the fourth successful try in the long illustrious career of the future Hall of Famer. It was a beautiful throw and even luckier catch by Allen Lazard, much to the joy of the home crowd to put the Jets within 3 entering the game’s midpoint.
From there however, the Jets struggled. The Bills defense clamped down on the run and swarmed New York’s offensive line, sacking Rodgers three times on the evening. To add even further challenge, the windy weather at MetLife contributed to K Greg Zuerlein missing twice from field goal range, strapping the Jets down and forcing them to come from behind to win. Even then, Rodgers and co. had the ball in the final minutes of the game with the ability to score and take the lead for good – but Williams slipped, CB Taron Johnson plucked the pick, and the rest is history.
Running Back
Breece Hall: 18 Carries, 113 Yards | 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 56 Yards
A welcome-back to fantasy relevance for Breece Hall against the Bills defense.
Hall looked like a different player with all of the changes implemented in East Rutherford this week. Now that coach Todd Downing is calling the plays in relief of coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, the Jets suddenly found a running game and stuck to it. Against the bottom-tier run defense of Buffalo, Hall feasted early and often, slicing them up for 6.3 yards a carry and causing even more damage in the passing game as the third most targeted player for Rodgers.
For weeks fantasy managers had lamented the limited opportunities Hall was being given, but with the change in coaching, he finally looks to be back on track. It’s a shame he couldn’t put the cherry on top of his performance with a TD though – he came close on a 42-yard scamper, frantically hauling to the pylon ahead of the nearest Bills defender before ultimately being pushed out of bounds at the Buffalo 3-yard-line. A good effort at least, and hopefully one he’ll build on as the weeks go by.
Braelon Allen: 3 Carries, 8 Yards | 2 Targets
An overall non-factor in this game, Hall took the lead in this one and never relinquished control. He would have had a TD run late in the game, but it was called back on a hold, and that was all she wrote.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Garrett Wilson: 10 Targets, 8 Receptions, 107 Yards, 1 TD
Wilson loomed large against a stingy Bills secondary and did a deluge of damage for the Jets offense.
The former Ohio State Buckeye standout was all over the field on Monday, and Rodgers found him early and often to get the chains moving. This is usual for the receiver in the Aaron Rodgers-era of New York, but the depth to which Wilson was being targeted was a nice surprise. The pair made it a point to get downfield as often as they could, and Wilson’s 13.4 yards per reception was second only to Allen Lazard (who’s numbers were obviously skewed due to the 52-yard prayer lobbed his way to end the first half).
Wilson could have had a second TD were it not for the threaded-needle pass between two Bills safeties who subsequently crunched the ball out of the star wideout’s hands. It took a few seconds for Wilson to get up after that, but luckily he was fine and was able to finish the game.
Allen Lazard: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 114 Yards, 1 TD
The beneficiary of the A-Rod Hail Mary #4, which begs the question – how does the QB keep getting away with throws like that?
Lazard has been a welcome surprise throughout the 2024 season. Last year, it was painful to watch Jets’ passers throw his way, and many were ready to label the veteran as simply a product of Rodgers’ nepotism since following him over from Green Bay. That hasn’t been the case this year, however – Lazard is the de facto WR2 in New York, and continued to prove so against the Bills secondary all night. He finished second in targets but first overall in yardage for the Jets, with his TD catch off of the oft-mentioned Hail Mary throw. It was yet another solid outing for the 7th year wideout, sans any drops which was even better.
Tyler Conklin: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 10 Yards
Jeremy Ruckert: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 7 Yards
Mike Williams: 3 Targets
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)