The New York Jets (5-3) called it a must-win game, and they executed Sunday afternoon in Buffalo to top the Bills (5-3) 27-11 behind a strong defensive effort. Though Mark Sanchez tried his best to help the Bills with an early red zone interception and a bad fumbled snap, Rex Ryan’s defense performed all game long and kept Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick from doing very much at all.
Fitzpatrick was picked off twice in the game, once by short pass over the middle by Calvin Pace and then on a spectacular acrobatic effort by David Harris on a tipped ball, both in the second quarter. The defensive line stepped up for the first time this season and limited Fred Jackson to 82 yards on 18 carried.
The Bills didn’t get in to the end zone until garbage time, as Ryan Fitzpatrick hit David Nelson on a seven-yard TD with just a few minutes remaining in the game. Fitzpatrick ran it down the sideline for the two-point conversion but it was too little, too late at that point for Buffalo.
After a streak of extremely accurate games, Fitzpatrick hit a road bump today when faced with the task of working around Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Kyle Wilson, and Jim Leonhard. He completed just 15 of 31 pass attempts (48.4 percent) for 191 yards, his lowest total on the season.
Mark Sanchez struggled early in the game, throwing an interception in the end zone after a long, drawn out first quarter drive, on a play in which he seemingly tried to throw the ball away. His late first-half fumble gave the Bills the ball back just one play after an interception took them off the field.
He bounced back in the second half leading the Jets on three scoring drives, letting LaDainian Tomlinson and fullback John Conner take in two one-yard touchdown runs and hitting Santonio Holmes for an eight-yard end zone pass. Two Nick Folk field goals account for the other six points, one from 49 yards and the second from 50.
Ex-Bills defensive end Aaron Maybin, now a Jet, was ineffective and had his worst game since being signed by New York. Maybin did not register one tackle in the game.
The win boosts the Jets to 5-3, tied with the Bills for the best record in the AFC East. The Patriots loss means that there is now a three-way divisional tie. As the Jets have now beaten the Bills, the Bills have beaten the Patriots, and the Patriots have beaten the Jets, secondary tiebreakers would come into play to determine the standings.
The Jets go home next weekend to host the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football at 8:20 p.m. The Bills will go to Dallas to face the Cowboys at 1:00 p.m. A Jets win next week in New England guarantees them first place in the division and no worse than a two way tie.
