Well, that was just about as bad as it gets. Despite hanging around for much of the first half—trailing 12-0 at halftime—the New York Jets were destroyed by the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, NY, with a 40-14 final.
Week 17 Final
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The Jets’ effort was uninspiring, to say the least. Led by a stifling defense and a skilled offense, the Bills dropped 40 points on their lowly division rival.
Nothing went right for the Jets. After two good drives stalled out, their offense completely fell apart at the seams. They could not move the ball against Buffalo and committed multiple poor turnovers, whether it was interceptions from Aaron Rodgers or a Garrett Wilson fumble.
On the other hand, the Jets’ defense struggled mightily throughout the game. They let the Bills do whatever they wanted, whether on the ground or through the air.
Most of all, though, New York was severely undisciplined. The Jets let the energy of the game get to them, committing an array of penalties that kept Buffalo drives going or stopped New York drives in their tracks.
It was a game that surmised the 2024 season for the New York Jets. They crumbled under adversity, showed no discipline, and played softly against a quality opponent. Their season has been long over, but today’s game showed that there is no fight left in the 2024 iteration of the Jets.
Follow along for the complete recap of today’s abysmal showing for the Jets against the Bills.
The Jets’ offense shows plenty of regression
In a sense, today’s game did not start poorly for the Jets.
After the Bills opened the game with a touchdown, New York was able to find some room on its opening drive. Breece Hall was utilized on the ground and in the air, while Braelon Allen spelled him on some plays. Tyler Conklin and Garrett Wilson were utilized on early downs to help New York get into scoring territory.
However, things ended poorly. Rodgers turned down an opportunity to scramble and missed a wide-open Kenny Yeboah for a would-be touchdown. On the next play, New York was stuffed on a 4th down run attempt.
Unfortunately for the Jets, it was a sign of things to come.
Aaron Rodgers was picked off after another lengthy drive, as Buffalo’s defense tipped and snagged a pass that was intended for Davante Adams.
Their next drive ended quickly; after a handoff that went nowhere, Rodgers was sacked in the endzone for a safety, which made the score 9-0 Buffalo.
This trend continued for Rodgers for the entire game. The quarterback’s accuracy was erratic and inconsistent, and he hesitated to use his legs. Additionally, the offensive line was consistently beaten around the tackles. Combined with the quarterback holding onto the ball for too long, the Bills racked up four sacks and even more pressures.
It culminated in Rodgers posting a 1.2 QBR, the lowest mark in a game since Davis Mills posted a 0.8 QBR in 2021.
Garrett Wilson also lost a fumble during this game, which contributed to the team’s offensive woes.
The best plays for the Jets’ offense came when backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor entered the game.
Despite his play occurring in garbage time, the veteran racked up 84 passing yards and two touchdowns on two drives. One of his touchdowns was a nice pass to Garrett Wilson, who snagged the pass with one hand in the end zone. His other touchdown pass was to an open Tyler Conklin up the seam, which is something the Jets have rarely done this season.
On the offensive side of the ball, the overall performance was a familiar sight for the Jets.
They had positive flashes, whether it was the game’s first drive or the touchdowns from Wilson and Conklin. However, the inconsistency and struggles were very apparent, too; whether it was penalties, turnovers, or a lack of execution, the Jets just could not do enough to compete, let alone win the game.
New York has one last chance to put together a complete offensive performance this season. Whether or not it occurs is a different story.
A defensive whimper
As has been the case for most of the season, the Jets’ defense did not show up in Buffalo on Sunday.
The Bills’ rushing attack was not phenomenal but consistently churned out yardage to keep them ahead of the sticks. James Cook led the charge in this aspect for the Bills, racking up 53 yards and scoring a touchdown late in the third quarter.
However, the significant defensive struggles came against Buffalo’s passing attack.
Quarterback Josh Allen had a modest 182 passing yards, but he was crisp and efficient in attacking New York’s secondary. Thanks to plenty of miscommunications and poor coverage, Buffalo had open receivers against various coverages.
And, of course, Allen had to show off his MVP-level arm strength and playmaking. His touchdown to Amari Cooper was arguably one of the best throws of the game, while his scramble drill touchdown to Keon Coleman was the best play of the entire game.
In total, the Jets allowed 348 net yards and 5.4 yards per play. It was another poor performance for a defense that has been on the downswing for most of the season and is certainly a far cry from the elite 2023 unit.
When it comes to their play on the field going forward, the Jets have plenty of issues they need to fix. However, ensuring that their defense returns to an average level must be prioritized.
Undisciplined to the max
One area of the game that has hurt the Jets the most all season is overall discipline.
The struggles were not exclusive to one unit; New York racked up 16 penalties for 120 yards. According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, it was New York’s most accepted penalties since their Week 16 matchup against the Packers in 2018.
Whether it was roughing the passer, delay of games, holdings, or Michael Clemons randomly jumping on a player, the Jets constantly hurt themselves on both sides of the ball.
The egregious amount of penalties showed that the Jets are a poorly coached and checked-out team. They are not playing as a unit but rather as a bunch of individuals playing for personal reasons.
Jeff Ulbrich did not have New York prepared and still looks to be in over his head. Whether it is the offense or defense, the Jets seem to crack and crumble at the first sign of any adversity. And that does not even include the execution errors or tension that seems to pop up weekly.
Mercifully, the season only has one game remaining. The Jets need a complete facelift, and it will be fascinating to see how the organization chooses to rebuild.
