Bills @ Jets
An AFC East “battle” between the 1st place Bills and 0-6 Jets turned out to be somewhat competitive. Unfortunately, it was close to being unwatchable football, so you’re welcome – I did the dirty work for you. In a game that featured just one touchdown and seven field goals, the injury-riddled Bills managed an 18-10 victory. Let’s dive in and talk about what I saw in this game, so I can purge it from my memory.
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
Josh Allen: 30/43, 307 yards, 2 sacks, 1 fumble lost | 11 carries, 61 yards
Josh Allen opened this game by dropping back to pass on the first 16 offensive snaps for the Bills. They moved the ball well but failed to score any points as they came away with a missed field goal and a lost fumble in the red zone.
LET'S GO, @TarellBasham 💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/Hx96ZyyfJv
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 25, 2020
Following the fumble, Allen led 7 consecutive drives into Jets territory with Tyler Bass kicking 6 field goals on those 7 drives. Allen for his part did a good job sustaining those drives both with his arm and his legs without putting the ball at risk of being turned over. Ultimately though, they failed to find the end zone on the day, which has to be considered disappointing against an 0-7 Jets team.
Running Backs
Devin Singletary: 8 carries, 29 yards | 5 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
Zack Moss: 7 carries, 47 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 25 yards
The Bills didn’t even try to run the ball early on. In fact, on their first possession, Josh Allen dropped back to pass six times, scrambling on one. On the second possession, Allen scrambled twice on 10 pass plays called (including one negated by a penalty). There were zero running back rushes called in the first 16 plays offensive plays of the game for the Bills.
Bills final HB snap count
Devin Singletary 40
Zack Moss 35
Out of 74 plays— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) October 25, 2020
Singletary’s first carry came on the Bills’ third possession and went for 12 yards. He looked decent, but once the Bills got to the 2nd Half, they got the ball running with Zack Moss and looked good doing it. Moss broke off a 26-yard run in addition to catching a 17-yard pass from Allen.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Cole Beasley: 12 targets, 11 receptions, 112 yards
Stefon Diggs: 11 targets, 6 receptions, 48 yards
Tyler Kroft: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 64 yards
Gabriel Davis: 3 targets, 1 reception, 11 yards
Isaiah McKenzie: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards | 1 carry, -11 yards
If I would’ve told you Josh Allen dropped back to pass 16 straight times to start the game, with John Brown out, you’d expect Stefon Diggs to be balling out, right? But Diggs had just 1 target in those first two drives. In the third drive, he had three targets but was shaken up some on the last deep pass in which he laid out to try and catch. Diggs was back in on the next drive and he saw three quick targets during the “two-minute drill”. Allen just wasn’t looking Diggs’ way as he saw just 1 target in the 4th Quarter.
Cole Beasley is such an expert at his trade. He’s a great short route runner and when Allen found him in stride Beasley showed off some excellent run-after-the-catch ability. Five of Beasley’s receptions went for 1st downs. Beasley had an awesome diving catch towards the sideline of the end zone but had stepped out of bounds before the ball got there.
With Dawson Knox out, Tyler Kroft took advantage of his opportunity. He caught a leaping pass against the sideline and found himself with room to run. However, as he was running, he stumbled (Daniel Jones style) but still managed to gain 38 yards on the play.
Gabriel Davis had a relatively quiet day, but he did have a 22-yard touchdown reception called back because of an illegal formation penalty.
Isaiah McKenzie is the king of the quick gadget plays. On the first play of the 2nd Half, McKenzie took a little shovel pass from Allen for an 8-yard gain. However, just 4 plays later, McKenzie got blown up in the backfield.
GET 'EM, ROOK! @Bryce55H
📺 #BUFvsNYJ on CBS pic.twitter.com/lB6eovpwaW
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 25, 2020
New York Jets
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 12/23, 120 yards, 2 INTs, 6 sacks, 1 fumble
Before I get into the bad with Darnold, let’s talk about the good. The Jets’ first three drives were good drives into Buffalo territory. Darnold made some decent throws to keep the drives going, including this excellent pass to Braxton Berrios on 3rd and 20.
3rd and 20? No problem.
📺 #BUFvsNYJ on CBS pic.twitter.com/xUkBkO55pP
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 25, 2020
If they would’ve kicked the field goal instead of going for it on 4th and 1, they could’ve come away with 13 points in their first 3 drives. Heading towards halftime, we saw Darnold’s first real mistake. He threw this ball into an area with four Bills’ defenders and it was picked off.
First career interception!
We see you, @djack11_. 👀
📺 #BUFvsNYJ on CBS pic.twitter.com/XoSHpuxOym
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) October 25, 2020
Following the bad interception, Darnold and the Jets went 4 and out, 3 and out, 3 and out, 3 and out over their next four drives. They gained a combined 9 yards in those four 2nd Half drives. On their fifth 2nd Half drive, threw the following pick, which ended the game.
Great concentration from @Iam_jerryhughes on the INT. #BillsMafia #BUFvsNYJ pic.twitter.com/43CDfLYOaX
— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2020
Running Backs
La’Mical Perine: 11 carries, 39 yards, 1 TD | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
Frank Gore: 11 carries, 60 yards
La’Mical Perine and Frank Gore shared the 22 carries evenly, but the snap share shows a different story.
Jets final HB snap count
La'Mical Perine 40
Frank Gore 16
Out of 57 plays— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) October 25, 2020
Perine had 4 carries of 7 or more yards, all of which came in the 1st Half. He also found the end zone for the first touchdown of his career.
La'Mical Perine gets his first TD and the #Jets, yes the Jets, have a two score lead. #FantasyFootball | #NFL pic.twitter.com/dNVi2XUJ1I
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 25, 2020
It feels like the Jets went into panic mode because Perine didn’t have a carry or target in the 2nd Half until 6 minutes to go in the 4th Quarter. That’s despite leading 10-9 and trailing 12-10 into the 4th Quarter.
Frank Gore looked so good when he touched the ball. Seven of his 11 carries went for 7 or more yards. I have questions for the person calling plays for the Jets.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Denzel Mims: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 42 yards
Braxton Berrios: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 35 yards
Breshad Perriman: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 27 yards
Denzel Mims led the way for the Jets’ pass catchers on the game, but like most of the other Jets’ stats, most of Mims production came on the first three drives. He saw just one target in the second half.
With Jamison Crowder out, Braxton Berrios saw an increased workload out of the slot. He saw two deep targets and had the big 22-yard reception on 3rd and 20.
Breshad Perriman only saw two official targets, but also drew two additional pass interference penalties. He also took a shot from Micah Hyde on the Jets’ final drive of the game, which drew an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Holy cow… huge hit from Micah Hyde here. Called for the personal foul. #Bills pic.twitter.com/HAa9omJ0UG
— Bradley Gelber (@BradleyGelber) October 25, 2020
— Rich Holman (@RichardoPL83 on Twitter)