Bills vs Jets Recap
The Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets 40-14 to finish the regular season undefeated at home while securing their position as the AFC’s number two seed heading into the playoffs. Buffalo started the game with a 12-play drive, resulting in a 1-yard Josh Allen rushing touchdown. The Jets had three possessions in the first half that resulted in a turnover on downs, an interception, and a safety, allowing Buffalo to take a 12-0 lead into halftime. The Bills erupted with 21 points in the third quarter to take a 33-0 lead and end Allen’s day before the fourth quarter. Mitch Trubisky stepped in with most of the starters on the sidelines and hit Tyrell Shavers for his first career reception; 69 yards later, it was his first touchdown. At 40-0, the Jets were more than embarrassed, and Aaron Rodgers was on the sideline for Tyrod Taylor to get two garbage time touchdowns against backups.
Bills vs Jets Sunday, December 29, 2024
Preview Hits and Misses
Hits
I listed James Cook, Greg Rousseau, and Garrett Wilson as players to watch in my preview. Cook’s streak of breaking the century mark ended but he ran in his league-leading 15th touchdown of the season. Rousseau finished the game with three tackles and half a sack and tipped the ball Jordan Phillips intercepted. Wilson finished the game as the Jets leading receiver with 66 yards on 7 receptions for a touchdown. He did have a costly turnover in the second half that led to a Bills touchdown.
Misses
Breece Hall and Dalton Kincaid had underwhelming performances in the second matchup. The Jets running game showed flashes early, but Hall's role diminished once the game was out of hand. Kincaid was only targeted twice, catching both for 24 yards.
5 Things I Liked
Defense - The Bills’ defense showed up on Sunday and played their best game since facing San Francisco. They finished the game plus three in the turnover department with four sacks, one for a safety, and forced a turnover on downs. Buffalo leads the NFL in turnover margin per game and on the year at +23. Rodgers finished the game 12-18 for 112 yards, with two interceptions and a 1.2 QBR. He failed to pass for his 500th touchdown and is now the most-sacked quarterback in NFL history after being taken down four times on Sunday.
Trench Battle - Buffalo’s defensive line has faced much criticism over the last few weeks. They quieted the noise against the Jets for now. A.J. Epenesa, DaQuan Jones, Von Miller, Ed Oliver, and Greg Rousseau finished the game with at least a half-sack. The offensive line, Spencer Brown, Dion Dawkins, and David Edwards in particular, had another impressive performance. This was the seventh game this season that Buffalo did not give up a sack. They lead the league with only 14 surrendered on the season.
Special Teams - Brandon Codrington and Ty Johnson had exceptional games as returners. Tyler Bass had a perfect day battling the wind and rain. Sam Martin continued his strong play on his 3 punts, averaging 45.7 yards, and landed one inside the five-yard line that helped lead to the safety.
Player of the Month - Josh Allen completed his December with 18 touchdowns and 1 interception. I won’t get caught up in the MVP dialogue, but Allen just had the best month of his career and broke or extended numerous records in the process. Allen is playing his best at the right time, and it looks like he will be able to get a lot of rest before the playoffs begin.
Health - The Bills finished the game without any significant injuries. Amari Cooper left the game briefly after his touchdown reception but was cleared to return. Buffalo has one game before the playoffs to rest starters and allow more time for Curtis Samuel and Damar Hamlin to get healthy.
5 2 Things I Didn’t Like
Penalties - The Bills had seven penalties for 60 yards in the game. With the Jets, they combined for 23 penalties for 180 yards. The most frustrating one was the “holding” penalty on Spencer Brown that erased Allen’s 40-yard completion to Keon Coleman.
Turnover Dependency - This may be nitpicking because I love that the defense forces turnovers and creates havoc in the backfield with the sacks and tackles for a loss. My concern is that they have become too dependent on it, and it’s their primary source of momentum. The Jets were moving the ball down the field easily in the first half, but mistakes and some key plays by the Bills’ defenders resulted in all three drives coming up empty. If they get into another game, like the Rams game in the playoffs, where they cannot force a turnover, this strategy can come back to bite them.
Critical Plays From the Game
On the Jets’ first drive, Aaron Rodgers had his tight end open for a walk-in touchdown. Rodgers threw it at the legs, and it went incomplete. On 4th and 1 from the Bills’ 24-yard line, New York went for it with a handoff to Braelon Allen that was read perfectly by Greg Rousseau, who cut in from the edge to stop the play for no gain. Instead of a tie game or cutting the deficit to 7-3 in the first quarter, the Jets continued a trend of being unable to finish their drives.
After Rodgers’ first interception, Buffalo had a promising drive derailed by some penalties. On third and nine from the Jets’ 44-yard line, Allen avoided pressure and rolled to his right. As he approached the sideline, he heaved the ball toward Keon Coleman, who had started coming back towards the line of scrimmage and dove for the ball but had it bounce off his hands, ending the drive. This wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game, maybe the timing of when it was really over, but it would have been a major confidence boost for Coleman. Catching that ball would have been impressive and most likely led to another Bills score instead of punting it away.
Stat(s) of the Game
BillsBanter Group Chat Quote of the Game
“Josh Allen can take a seat for the rest of the regular season pls”
Postgame Quote of the Game
Postgame Perspective
Over the last few weeks, the MVP conversation has become pretty toxic. Allen and Lamar Jackson are both having exceptional seasons worthy of the award. Seeing the fan bases tearing the opposing player apart on social media and hearing the commentary during this game or from the talking heads has become nauseating. The plan is for Allen to start in the season finale to keep his consecutive start streak active, but not much more than that. The Bills will be smart and rest players who have earned it while allowing backups and practice squad players to get valuable game experience. This is the healthiest Buffalo has been heading towards the postseason in quite some time. I’m happy they have the opportunity to sit and watch this year, unlike last season. Go Bills!
Up Next: Buffalo at New England - Sunday January 5th 1:00 PM
