New York physically dominated Buffalo.
by Steve Saslow
Here are our position by position grades:
Quarterback:EJ Manuel overthrew Stevie Johnson on consecutive plays deep downfield on the Bills opening possession. He overthrew Robert Woods in the end zone on a third down pass early in the second quarter. Was running for his life way too many times and held on to the ball too long. Got into a bit of a rhythm for a short time in the fourth quarter. Finished 19 of 42 for 243 yards and a score with no interceptions.
Grade F: Ups and downs of a rookie QB. This was definitely a down moment.
C.J. Spiller really struggled before going out with a knee injury. Not only was he dancing around with nowhere to run but he also put the ball on the ground twice but didn't lose it either time. Finished with 10 total yards.
Fred Jackson has an amazing 59 yard run on a 3rd and 1 play when he was stopped at the line but bounced off and went through a crease and raced downfield. The run setup the Bills first field goal. Finished with 109 total yards offensively.
Tashard Choice had two carries for -1 yard.
Grade D: Had 120 yards on the ground, 40 by Manuel and 59 on Jackson's run, 21 the rest of the way.
Stevie Johnson couldn't pull in a ball on the goal line and was struggling with a hand injury and cramps throughout the game. Made a great grab on the two point conversion catch. Finished with six catches for 86 yards and drew a couple of penalties.
Robert Woods had a 29 yard catch that could have went for more but he stepped out of bounds. Also had a six yard grab.
T.J. Graham was targeted five times but only had one catch. Did draw a couple of penalties.
Scott Chandler had a nice catch and run on his 33 yard touchdown reception. Finished with 5 catches in all for 79 yards. He definitely woke up in the second half.
Lee Smith struggled in pass protection.
Grade C+: Made a few players but couldn't do much since there was little time to throw.
Eric Wood continues his sub par year as the quarterback of the line.
Kraig Urbik left the game with a knee injury for a short time.
Sam Young replaced Urbik when he went out.
Cordy Glenn was called for a holding penalty on the final drive.
Grade F-: 8 sacks and countless other pressures. Awful performance.
Mario Williams was very quiet with two tackles and little pressure. Did draw a holding penalty.
Marcell Dareus hurt his arm but played with a brace on it before going out with an ankle injury. Was called for a neutral zone infraction.
Kyle Williams got tremendous pressure but couldn't get to Smith on one of his long touchdown passes.
Alex Carrington had a nice tackle for loss.
Jerry Hughes was called for a neutral zone infraction.
Alan Branch was in on three tackles.
Grade F: Gave up too many yards on the ground and got no pressure.
Manny Lawson was all over the place with 14 tackles.
Kiko Alonso had eight tackles and another interception.
Nigel Bradham was a non factor once again.
Arthur Moats was in on six tackles.
Grade C-: Made the majority of the tackles.
Justin Rogers was pathetic beaten on five long passes for a whopping 229 total yards. He got beat for a 45 yard pass reception to convert a third down on the opening possession. Gave up too big a cushion to Santonio Holmes allowing him to catch a 24 yard pass on 3rd and 13 in the first quarter. He was then was beaten by Hill for a 51 yard touchdown and a 40 yard bomb to Holmes in the third quarter. Followed that up by giving up a 69 yard touchdown pass to Holmes after the Bills had tied it in the fourth. He did break up a deep pass on a double reverse pass. Was also called for pass interference.
Nickell Robey was not where he was supposed to be on the big 45 yard reception to Hill on the opening drive. Was called for a pass interference penalty.
Aaron Williams moved to cornerback on the Jets second series after Leodis McKelvin went out with a hamstring injury. Had good coverage on a third bomb on that series and seemed to be the best defensive back on the field.
Da'Norris Searcy was in on five tackles but was pretty quiet throughout the game.
Jim Leonhard had an interception against a former team that led to a second quarter field goal.
Duke Williams was called for a pass interference penalty late in the half to setup the Jets for a field goal.
Grade F-: Rogers should be cut except there is nobody left to replace him. Injuries have killed this unit.
Shawn Powell had three long punts that went for touchbacks. Has no touch on his punts. Averaged 51 yards on his seven punts but just a 39.9 net. Three did go inside the 20.
Dan Carpenter hit field goals of 37, 23, 43, and 26 yards without a miss.
Jim Leonhard returned punts with McKelvin's injury. He had two returns for just four yards.
Marcus Easley only returned one kick for 18 yards.
Coverage Units did well allowing just 18 yards on three punt returns and a 17.7 yard average on three kickoff returns.
Grade B: Not the reason for the loss.
Doug Marrone didn't seem to have his club ready. They were beaten badly on the line of scrimmage. Wasted about :10 before calling a timeout late in the first half. Didn't use enough of the clock before having to punt it back to The Jets giving them a chance at a field goal before the half.
Nathaniel Hackett had a gameplan to run the ball more with Manuel out of the read option with no success. Had no answers for the Jets complicated defense.
Mike Pettine had no answers either especially when McKelvin went out. He needed to give Rogers help but stubbornly left him out on an island to get constantly burned.
Grade F: Failing grade for terrible loss.
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