ORCHARD PARK – The Buffalo Bills have done their job, but they’ll have to wait until next weekend to find out who they’ll host in the AFC Wild Card Game at Highmark Stadium.
By pulling away in the second half and defeating the truly fearsome New York Jets 40-14 on Sunday afternoon, the Bills clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC bracket. And their first-round opponent will likely be either the Denver Broncos or the Cincinnati Bengals. Like the Miami Dolphins. The Indianapolis Colts were defeated by the New York Giants and were eliminated.
While the fate of these teams hangs in the balance, the Bills will play a now meaningless Week 18 game in New England, during which Sean McDermott will have many key players, including quarterback Josh Allen. You can rest.
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That’s why it was so important to win against the Jets, the last thing the Bills wanted to do was go all out against the Patriots, win two home games in the postseason, and maybe, if the Bills could survive, win the AFC Championship. The idea was to grab the chance to host a third game on the weekend of the Ship Game. It’s unlikely that the Chiefs somehow stumble in the divisional round after the first two rounds.
“It gives us options,” McDermott said of the clinch. “And I think that’s the important thing for us. Let’s see where it goes. We’ve got some players who are a little bit injured right now, so they might need some rest, but we’ll see.” Let’s take a look at them. There are also some players that I’m kind of interested in and want to look at because they might not be ready for action yet, whether it’s offensively, defensively or on special teams. , I think that can be taken into consideration.”
Allen will likely start to maintain his streak of 113 consecutive games into the postseason, then step out after a series or two and hand the reins to Mitch Trubisky.
“We don’t know what next week is going to look like, but we’ll have the option to rest certain players and whatever (Brandon) Beane and McDermott are telling the players to do, we’ll just go with the flow. ” Allen said.
They had this chance because they completely defeated the Jets, turning a 12-0 deficit into a 40-0 blowout in the first 13 minutes of the second half.
“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of fun. And it definitely makes my job easier,” McDermott said of the game’s explosion in popularity. “I thought it was amazing to see.”
Here’s how I graded performance:
Pass Offense: B-
Allen had to overcome a difficult first half as the Jets gave him the same bout they always do. The opposition was under pressure, making things difficult for the wide receiver, and after the game’s opening TD drive, all he could muster was a field goal on the final play of the second quarter.
In the second half, thanks to the defense giving us short fields with turnovers, we scored three quick touchdowns on drives of just 38, 37 and 15 yards, the last being a brilliant 14-yard 30 to Amari Cooper. Finished with a TD pass for a yard. Throw it 1 yard and hope for a great pass to Keon Coleman and a 1 yard TD run from James Cook. In the blink of an eye, the score went from 12-0 to 33-0, and he spent the rest of the afternoon on the bench.
It was great to see Cooper make some plays with three catches for 56 yards, and Coleman played great, jumping high in the air and catching a TD in traffic all around him. He did have a few drops, though. Khalil Shakir was strangely quiet with just 3 catches for 25 yards, and Dalton Kincaid was similar with 2 catches for 24 yards. Allen finished with just 182 yards but totaled 40 TDs with two TD passes and one rush.
As for Trubisky, his only pass went to Tyrell Shavers for a 69-yard TD. How about efficiency?
Run offense: C+
There were some garbage minutes that helped lower their per-carry average, as the Jets were able to run Ray Davis and Ty Johnson on offense for much of the fourth quarter.
Even more impressive was the Bills’ performance in the first half, as they totaled 75 yards on 17 attempts, averaging 4.4 yards per game. Still, the Jets’ front gave the offensive line some trouble, holding Cook to just 53 yards and one touchdown, while the Bills gained 94 yards on 37 attempts for an average of 2.9 yards.
Pass defense: A
Speaking of garbage time, my old friend Tyrod Taylor came into play when the game was 40-0. He replaced Aaron Rodgers and went 11-of-14 for 83 yards and 2 TDs when the Bills basically stopped playing defense, so we ignore all that and ignore Rodgers’ dominance in Buffalo. I decided to concentrate on.
The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer looked washed out, but if he can throw his 500th career TD pass next week against the Dolphins, he could really ride off into the sunset and make it. It should be called a career. The Bills drafted him twice, waived him four times and aged him out with a shutout in three quarters.
They were unable to get WRs Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson going, completing just 12 of 18 for 112 yards. RB Breece Hall, whose strength is in the passing game, was limited to just one catch. The Bills got Taylor Rapp and Rasul Douglas back to change things up, but it was Buffalo’s big-play ability that changed the game.
Christian Benford made the interception. Greg Rousseau deflected a pass that resulted in Jordan Phillips being picked off. Ed Oliver forced a fumble, which was recovered by Matt Milano. Rousseau made a big fourth-down stop on New York’s first possession. And AJ Epenesa had a sack for a safety.
Run defense: B+
Hall got off to a strong start, but then disappeared, gaining just 45 yards on 10 carries and 17 yards on one play. The Jets’ inability to move him was part of the team’s downfall, especially considering Hall has traditionally been a thorn in the Bills’ side.
The Bills’ defensive line lost ground to the Jets’ offensive line, not only in the pass rush but also in the run game. The majority of the Jets’ 112 rushing yards came off tackles. Linebacks Terrell Bernard, Matt Milano, Dorian Williams and Joe Andreessen combined for 24 tackles, and starting safety Cole Bishop had five tackles and was nearly sacked on a blitz.
Special teams: A-
It was a windy and sometimes humid day, but Tyler Bass made a 39-yard field goal and made all five of his extra points. And Sam Martin completed a 51-yard punt, plus a 39-yard punt on downs at the 5, ultimately setting the stage for Epenesa’s safety.
Return man Brandon Codrington, acquired from the Jets in a preseason trade, completed a spectacular 25-yard punt return, and Ty Johnson returned three kickoffs, including one for 45 yards. In coverage, the Bills were healthy on both punts and kickoffs, as Xavier Gipson didn’t make an impact and Bass also had four touchbacks.
Perhaps most strikingly, the Bills’ kicking unit was empty that day when referee Clete Bakeman and his staff appeared to be aiming at the quarterback by throwing flags.
Coaching: A-
Defensive coordinator Bobby Babich has had a tough few weeks, but his team was ready for this game. Big plays and turnovers were key factors in the final outcome, some of which came from the pass rush and creativity on the back end, keeping Rodgers guessing.
Offensively, Joe Brady struggled to get things going in the first half, especially after the first drive, a TD march that was aided by the Jets’ three penalties. And in the second half, there were a lot of short fields so he didn’t have to make as many big plays, but when he did, Allen executed.
For McDermott, the Jets are definitely the team he wants to beat. He prepared the Bills for what seemed to be an even more fraught relationship between the players than usual, but he also knew not to be foolish. There was an early altercation that resulted in a 15-yard penalty on Connor McGovern, but nothing happened after that, and the Bills outplayed the chippy nature that the Jets often bring.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for 40 years, including 35 years as D&C’s full-time beat writer, and has written numerous books about the team’s history. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com and followed at X @salmaiorana and Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social. Sign up for the Bills Blast newsletter here: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
