The New York Jets saw Aaron Rodgers dazzle with a vintage performance but ultimately fall to the Buffalo Bills by a score of 23-20. The heartbreaking loss sees them fall to 2-4 on the season and 0-1 in the post-Robert Saleh era.
Aaron Rodgers showed he still has some magic left in his arm
Time and time again Monday night when it looked like the Bills were going to pull away, Rodgers tapped into his MVP form and brought the Jets back. No play bigger exemplified this than the last play of the first half. After the Bills marched down the field to go up 20-10 before the half, it appeared they were going to take control as they were also set to receive the second-half kick-off.
With 21 seconds left in the half, Rodgers completed two quick passes before uncorking a beautiful Hail Mary that landed in the waiting arms of Allen Lazard for a shocking touchdown as the clock expired on the first half. Rodgers pulled off a number of other face-melting throws, including a laser to Lazard that whizzed past the linebacker’s hip and into Lazard’s bread-basket later on in the game.
All told, Rodgers went 23 for 35 on the night for 294 yards and two touchdowns. The lone blemish was a late fourth-quarter interception that killed the Jets’ comeback attempt, however, that was more on receiver Mike Williams who fell down trying to make the play. The Jets need to win these games where Rodgers has these sorts of turn-back-the-clock performances.
The Jets’ young offensive stars finally take off
It had been a quiet start to the season for the Jets’ young offensive cornerstones, RB Breece Hall and WR Garrett Wilson. The Jets’ early season predictable play-calling limited the two young studs, however after the change to elevate passing game coordinator Todd Downing to offensive play caller, we saw these two key players get unlocked.
Hall topped 100 yards rushing for the first time this season after two particularly brutal games against Minnesota and Denver. The former Iowa State product finished his night as the dual threat Jets fans had become accustomed to, rushing 18 times for 113 yards while also hauling in five passes for 56 yards.
Wilson and Rodgers had struggled to get on the same page for most of the season. Despite being the most targeted receiver in the league, most of Wilson’s production had come from screen passes to this point as he entered the game averaging less than 10 yards per reception. With the connection finally clicking, Wilson hauled in a team-high 8 catches while totaling 107 yards and a touchdown.
The Jets’ run defense continues to be an issue
The Bills were without star running back James Cook and instead handed the reigns to fourth-round rookie Ray Davis. This seemed like it should be an advantageous development for New York, however, from the Bills’ opening possession through the end of the game, Davis consistently battered the Jets defense who has struggled to stop the run all season.
On the Bills’ opening drive, they marched down the field in nine plays to score a touchdown. Eight of those nine plays were rushing attempts, including Allen’s QB sneak to get into the endzone. For his part, Ray Davis consistently broke tackles to get into the second level while the Jets’ defensive line struggled to defend gaps at the point of attack.
Buffalo tallied a total of 149 yards on the ground with Davis accounting for 97 of them on 20 carries which was good for an average of 4.9 yards per carry. Continuously getting dominated on the ground will hold the Jets back as the season wears on.
Penalties proved to be very costly
One of the reasons the Jets moved on from Robert Saleh was that penalties and undisciplined play had proven costly through the first five weeks of the season. The Jets entered Monday night’s matchup seventh in the league in total penalties and fifth in the league in penalty yardage. The hope was that his dismissal and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s ascension to interim head coach would ramp up the accountability and cut down on the undisciplined penalties.
That proved not to be the case. While both teams were heavily penalized (Buffalo 11 times for 94 yards and the Jets 11 times for 110 yards), the Jets penalties always seemed to come at the worst possible times. Some extended Buffalo’s drives such as the several pass interference calls against cornerback, D.J. Reed, while others stalled the Jets’ drives including a costly holding call in Tyron Smith, which took a touchdown off the board and resulted in a second-half drive ending in 0 points following a missed field goal.
There’s reason to be concerned about Greg Zuerlein
There’s no doubt that the strong gusty winds swirling around MetLife Stadium posed an issue for both kickers, however for a man nicknamed “Greg the Leg” and “Legatron” for his incredibly strong kicking leg, one would think he’d be able to produce enough juice to cut through the wind and hit clutch field goals.
Instead, he went two of four on the night, clanking two attempts off the uprights for critical misses. All of Zuerlein’s field goal attempts came from reasonable distances given the conditions, with misses from 32 yards and 43 yards which proved to be the difference in the game. There’s some level of concern for the Jets as they worked out three kickers after the performance which saw Zuerlein fall to just eight made field goals on 12 attempts on the year.
Looking ahead to Week 7 at the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Jets will take on the 4-2 Steelers in Pittsburgh for Sunday Night Football, hoping to continue the offensive resurgence while being challenged in run defense once again. Pittsburgh ranks ninth in the league in rushing yards per game at 131.5 and features a reinvigorated Justin Fields at QB who seems to finally be living up to his draft pedigree.
The Jets will have a new friend in tow in hopes of salvaging their season, following the acquisition of Davante Adams bolstering their bid to take down the Pittsburgh defense which has allowed just 208.7 passing yards per game.
