Pandemonium has struck in the AFC East. The New York Jets have defeated the Buffalo Bills.
Zach Wilson went 18/25 for 154 yards and a touchdown and the Jets ran for 77 yards on what turned out to be the game-winning drive as Greg Zuerlein hit from 28 yards and the Jets go into their bye week at 6-3. Incredible run so far for the Jets, who are now 2-1 in the division and now just the Bills in the AFC East with the tiebreak.
In total, the Jets ran for 174 yards, including 76 from Michael Carter and 48 from James Robinson and each found the end zone, with one for Carter on the ground and Robinson in the air.
The game was sealed with a stop on 4th and long and it was none other than Sauce Gardner coming up with the pass breakup to seal the deal. Gardner was beat on the first play by Stefon Diggs, but bounced back nicely and ended up leading the Jets with seven tackles and had an interception and that pass breakup.
The Jets defense as a whole came to play today. “Lights out” as head coach Robert Saleh put it. They sacked Josh Allen — who finished with a QB rating of 46.8 — five times and picked him off twice and nearly had a couple more. Allen did rush for 86 yards and two touchdowns, but the rest of the Bills team rushed for just 48 yards on 13 carries. They also hit Allen eight times.
Allen’s 205 passing yards Sunday were a season-low after he threw for just 218 yards last week against the Packers. Diggs had 93 of the 205 passing yards but no other Bills receiver had more than 33.
Speaking of receiving, how good has Garrett Wilson been? The Wilson-to-Wilson connection is gaining steam. The rookie has eight catches for 92 yards. It’s his third game with at least 90 yards receiving. No other Jets receiver even hit 20 yards but eight different Jets receivers caught at least one pass — and Elijah Moore was not one of the eight. But Denzel Mims was. He had one catch on four targets, but the catch was huge, getting the Jets into the red zone and setting them up for the game-winning field goal.
All this despite the Bills going 8/13 on third down, while the Jets were just 5/13. All this despite being double-digit underdogs. Also, all this despite a delay during a Jets drive due to an issue with the wiring of the SkyCam. “It only happens to the Jets,” Saleh said about that after the game. All this despite Braden Mann slipping on the opening kickoff.
All that and the Jets found a way to win. Start spreading the news. The New York Jets go into their bye week at 6-3 coming off a win over the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl and are right in the division mix. They have already surpassed their Vegas win total and it’s Week 9. These truly aren’t the same old Jets. Start collecting those receipts.