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Jets Blowout Bills 34-21
Bills came out flat in big division loss.
by Steve Saslow
The Skinny:
The Bills looked like they were reading their press clippings waiting for their only primetime battle of the season. The Jets called this a must win and played like it as they blew out the Bills 34-21 at the Meadowlands. Josh McCown ran for a score and found Robby Anderson for a 25 yard touchdown pass and Matt Forte added two touchdown runs in the blowout win for New York. Tyrod Taylor was under pressure all game long and was sacked 7 times. He did find Zay Jones for his first NFL touchdown that tied the game for a bit in the 2nd quarter but it was all Gang Green in this one. Deonte Thompson also had his first TD as a Bill in the loss and Jordan Matthews had a score in garbage time as the Bills made the final score more respectable.
The Turning Point:
Matthews Fumble: With the Jets winning 10-7 late in the first half the Bills were driving for a possible tying field goal or game changing touchdown when Jordan Matthews caught a pass and stretched for a first down. He would have been short setting up a 4th and 1 in field goal range but he fumbled without getting hit and the Jets recovered. They held the lead at the half.
The Big Drive:
Jets 2nd TD: The Jets took control of the game with a third quarter touchdown that gave them a 17-7 lead. The Jets went on a 7 play, 74 yard drive in 3:49 to take control of the game. On the drive Josh McCown hit a 20 yard pass to Jermaine Kearse and Matt Forte had a 20 yard run setting up a 25 yard touchdown pass to Robby Anderson.
Stat I Didn't Like:
Rushing Yards Given Up: No stat I liked in this game so I'll give you two I didn't like. The Bills entered the game 3rd in the league in rushing defense but were run over in this game. The Jets ran for 194 yards in the win.
Stat I Didn't Like Part II:
Turnover Ratio: The law of averages evened out. After four straight games of forcing three or more turnovers the Bills turned the ball over three times in the blowout loss.
Scene Setters:
- Thursday Night games are color rush games but the Bills went the opposite. They were wearing all white uniforms including a new white facemask.
- The Bills decided not to play recently signed Kelvin Benjamin after only two days with the club. Probably a good move especially since he lost his bye week with the trade.
- Ramon Humber and Jordan Poyer were gametime decisions but.
- The other inactives were Charles Clay, E.J. Gaines, Brandon Tate, Conor Mcdermott, John Miller, and Seantrel Henderson.
Key Matchup Results:
The winners of the battles highlighted in our preview article:
RB LeSean McCoy vs. LB Demario Davis: Winner: Davis. The Bills fell behind and couldn't commit to the run game.
QB Tyrod Taylor vs. FS Marcus Maye: Winner: Maye. Not Tyrod's fault he had no time to do anything.
DE Jerry Hughes vs. LT Kelvin Beachum: Winner: Beachum. Hughes was too quiet in this one.
DB Tre'Davious White vs. WR Robby Anderson: Winner: Anderson. His third quarter touchdown gave the Jets control of the game.
Keys To The Game Results:
How the keys highlighted in our preview article turned out:
1. Stay Focused: Failure! They were so flat it was pathetic.
2. Shady, Shady, & More Shady: Failure! He had a decent yard per carry average in the first half but they didn't get him the ball enough and then fall behind.
3. Make McCown Uncomfortable: Failure! He sat in the pocket and dominated the game.
My Take:
This game should have been expected. Like many times over the terrible playoff drought the Bills got off to a good start. The media started believing in them and then they collapsed. This is a game playoff teams win. The Bills got us thinking this may be one of them then they reverted back to the same old Bills and laid in egg on national television. If you live by the turnover you die by the turnover and today the Bills died by the turnover. I hate to say it but it's back to the rebuild for this team.
What's Ahead:
The Bills head back home and will have 10 days to prepare for the high potent offensive attack of Drew Brees and the high flying New Orleans Saints.
Gameballs
Zay Jones - Had the best game of his young career with a couple of big catches and his first NFL touchdown. The only good thing in this game was that he came back from what looked like a serious knee injury.
Deonte Thompson - Had seven catches for 81 yards and a score in the loss. Most of those yards were in garbage time though
Goats
Offensive Line - By far the worst performance of the year from this unit.
Vlad Ducasse - Looked awful in this game and deserves his own goat.
Cordy Glenn - He also deserves his own goat after perhaps the worst game of his career.
Sean McDermott - His team was flat and looked foolish on national TV.
Jordan Matthews - His fumble was huge.
Nick O'Leary - His fumble ruined any chance at a comeback.
Player Of The Week
Zay Jones - Nice game for the rookie.
 Positional Breakdown and Grades
NFL.com Gamebook
Jets Game Preview
Gameday Homepage
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