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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Buffalo Bills emerged from a sluggish first half with a renewed sense of urgency, exploding for three second-half touchdowns to defeat the New York Jets 31-12 on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Trailing 10-9 after the Jets converted a field goal on their opening drive of the third quarter, Buffalo needed just six plays on its first two possessions of the second half to find the end zone twice, turning a tight contest into a comfortable lead.
The Bills' final scoring drive was even more efficient: after rookie linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr recovered a fumble at the Buffalo 26-yard line to halt a Jets threat, running back James Cook took the first play 74 yards for a touchdown, effectively sealing the outcome.
“We scored on a four-play, a two-play, and a one-play drive,” quarterback Josh Allen said of an offense that, despite not playing its sharpest game, surpassed 30 points for the sixth time in nine outings. “Didn't feel like we were out on the field all that much, especially in the second half. First half we've got to start faster, got to see it better, got to play better. Halftime adjustments, went in there, talked about it, and we executed. Proud of how our team played today.”
Buffalo possessed the ball for only 9 minutes and 23 seconds in the second half but still managed to put up three touchdowns. “The way things were going, I thought tempo was going to be an advantage for us in the second half,” offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. “Once we had an opportunity to get some big plays, we decided to get on the ball and change the tempo on them. I thought it benefited us. Especially playing (79 plays against the Vikings and 76 against the Ravens) the last couple of games, I think our offense needed that. It shows when you have Josh, you have the offense that we have.”
Defensively, the Bills once again faced a backup quarterback after starter Geno Smith was injured twice. Smith was forced out after a hit by Terrel Bernard at the end of the first half and later suffered an ankle injury, paving the way for rookie Cade Klubnik to make his NFL debut and finish the game. Buffalo's defense bent, allowing 376 total yards, but limited New York to four field goals. “I think our communication is at a high level,” Brady said of a defense that has performed much better since the bye week. “They're understanding the scheme and how they're trying to be attacked. We knew that this was part of the process of going through it all and us getting the feel of 11 guys playing together and who we wanted to be.”
Key Analysis
Here is how the Bills graded out in their Week 10 victory:
PASS OFFENSE: B — Buffalo has not been a quick-strike passing team this season, but offensive coordinator Joe Brady dialed up deep shots to start the third quarter. Allen connected with Dalton Kincaid for a career-long 54-yard gain, setting up Allen's own touchdown run, and later found DJ Moore for a 45-yard score. Moore, who had been quiet since Week 1, also added a 32-yard catch to finish with 90 yards. Allen completed just 11 passes but threw for 196 yards (9.3 yards per attempt), his third-best average of the season. Right tackle Spencer Brown gutted out an ankle injury and allowed just one pressure on 13 matchups with Jets rookie edge rusher David Bailey, per Sumer Sports, though Bailey did deflect two passes.
RUN OFFENSE: A — James Cook continued to carry the load and delivered another huge performance. After grinding for three quarters, he exploded for a 74-yard touchdown run—the longest of his career—to finish with a season-high 157 rushing yards. Buffalo totaled 201 yards on the ground. Cook now has the most attempts by a Bills running back in a five-game span since Marshawn Lynch in 2007, and his eight-game touchdown streak is the second of his career, making him the fifth player ever to achieve the feat, joining LaDainian Tomlinson, Priest Holmes, John Riggins, and Emmitt Smith. Allen added five designed quarterback sneaks and scored two touchdowns, giving him 90 for his career.
PASS DEFENSE: B- — The Bills' pass rush was largely absent for most of the game, a concerning trend, but it didn't matter against another backup quarterback. Buffalo finished with four sacks, three of which came late when the Jets were forced to pass; rookie TJ Parker had two. Jets starter Geno Smith missed the first series of the second half while clearing concussion protocol, and Klubnik led a 10-play, 61-yard field goal drive in his absence. Smith returned but injured his ankle, leaving Klubnik to finish. Klubnik threw an interception to Davison Igbinosun late in the third quarter, but Igbinosun fumbled on the return, giving the ball back to New York. Safety Amani Hooker nearly had a second-quarter interception but dropped it. Cornerback Christian Benford suffered a groin injury and could not finish, while Max Hairston, Dorian Williams, and Dee Alford also left with injuries.
RUN DEFENSE: A — The Jets inexplicably abandoned the run for most of the game despite having a solid 1-2 punch in Breece Hall and Braelon Allen. The duo combined for just 81 yards on 19 attempts. New York lost left guard Dylan Parham to an early knee injury, which may have contributed. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver committed an inexcusable offside penalty on fourth-and-6 late in the first quarter, extending a Jets drive that ended in a field goal. Dorian Williams led the Bills with nine tackles, Terrel Bernard had eight, and Amani Hooker added seven. Buffalo recorded seven tackles for loss.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B — Kicker Tyler Bass made his only field goal attempt and all four extra points, extending his streak to 20 consecutive field goals to start the season. Kickoff specialist Tommy Doman booted his first kickoff into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Jets 35 free yards, but he kept the next five in play, and Buffalo held New York to 25.6 yards per return. As a punter, Doman averaged 46.3 net yards on three punts, all downed inside the 20, including one inside the 10. Greg Dortch had a 36-yard kickoff return among his three attempts but was unable to generate anything on two punt returns. The Bills remain one of the NFL's top special teams units, ranked No. 1 by Pro Football Focus.
COACHING: A — Brady improved to 3-for-3 on coaches challenges in his young career, correctly challenging a fourth-quarter reception by Adonai Mitchell. Replay showed Mitchell bobbled the ball, and the play was overturned, forcing a Jets punt instead of a third-and-1. Brady's tempo change in the second half worked perfectly, and his play-calling was solid overall, though a few execution issues and penalties slowed things down. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard is finding his groove; in the last three games, his unit has allowed just one touchdown, which came against Baltimore on a possession that started at the Bills' 17-yard line after an Allen interception. The defense bent against the Jets but held them to 0-for-2 in the red zone.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades, including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the team's history and is co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills report card: Buffalo hits afterburners to pull away from Jets.
Originally reported by yahoo.