The New York Jets defeated the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football, snappign their five-game losing streak to their division rivals.
The New York Jets have been owned in recent history by the Buffalo Bills. The Jets had dropped five consecutive games to their AFC East rivals, the last two of which came at the hands of their former head coach, Rex Ryan. With Ryan on the Bills’ sidelines, there was some added drama to what was already a solid rivalry.
Despite it being only Week 2, this was an important game for both teams. Both the Jets and Bills lost in Week 1, putting themselves in early season holes. Going 0-2 isn’t a death sentence for a season, but it is difficult to come back from. It will be the Bills facing that uphill battle, as the Jets were able to exorcise some demons and knock off the Bills Thursday night, 37-31.
It was a very entertaining game for a Thursday Night Football game. Usually, there isn’t much offense as games are sloppy because teams have barely recovered from the previous week. That was not the case tonight, as both teams came out firing.
The Jets once again got things going early on, as the Bills struggled slowing them down. But, once again, the Jets were their own worst enemy as they struggled inside the red zone. The Jets settled for Nick Folk field goals of 28 and 29 yards, but found themselves trailing.
Tyrod Taylor would hit Marquise Goodwin for an 84-yard touchdown on third-and-long to give the Bills an early 7-3 lead.
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The Jets offense would finally be able to punch it into the endzone, as they scored touchdowns on their next two drives. Matt Forte had a one-yard plunge to give the Jets a 13-7 lead, and then Ryan Fitzpatrick found Eric Decker on a five-yard strike to give the Jets a 20-7 lead.
It was a game of revenge for Fitzpatrick, who had success against a Rex Ryan-led team for the first time in his career. Previous to tonight, Fitzpatrick averaged only 165 yards and 1.45 touchdowns per game, completing 47 percent of his passes.
He was able to put all of that behind him as he picked apart the Bills defense all night. After a rough opening drive in which he struggled with ball security, Fitzpatrick really got going. He would finish the game with 374 yards passing and one touchdown, going 24-of-34.
It was not an easy game for the Jets though, as they lost momentum going into overtime. The Bills would get a field goal at the end of the first half and carried that through into the second half. Taylor had another quick strike, hitting Greg Salas for a 71-yard touchdown on a broken play.
Minutes later, rookie Jalin Marshall would fumble away a reception, which was returned the opposite direction by Nickell Robey-Coleman for a touchdown. But, the Bills were unable to further capitalize, as the Jets took momentum back.
After punts by both teams, the Jets put together a lengthy drive which resulted in the second of three Forte touchdowns. The defense would then come up big again.
Marcus Williams would intercept Taylor after he returned from concussion evaluation, which the Jets would turn into another Nick Folk field goal. They would then have a fourth-down stand, stuffing E.J. Manuel and LeSean McCoy on back-to-back runs.
STOPPED!
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 16, 2016
We take over.
Own 45. 7:03 left. Up 6. #NYJvsBUF #TNF pic.twitter.com/X0tHhGLTUq
Once again Fitzpatrick led a scoring drive, putting the Jets ahead 37-24. Taylor would find Mike Gillislee for a touchdown afterwards, but the Bills were unable to recover the onside kick, effectively ending the game.
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It was an impressive showing for the Jets offense, as they finally were able to score in the red zone. Decker, Brandon Marshall and Chris Quincy Enunwa were all outstanding, each reeling in six receptions for 126, 101 and 92 yards respectively. Matt Forte would add 100 yards on the ground on 30 carries, as they got the job done against Ryan and the Bills.
The Jets will stay on the road for Week 3, as they will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills, meanwhile, will look to get their first win of the season next week at home against the Arizona Cardinals.