Wow. What. A. Game. Not that it was the most entertaining three hours that we have ever spent, but the Bills managed to put us through every emotion in their come from behind 17-16 win against the Jets. I will forever refer to this game as the “1% game” since that is what the Bills were up against. As noted in the broadcast, when a visiting team turns it over FOUR times in a game, they lose 99% of the time. For three quarters I couldn’t believe that we waited nine months for THAT performance. It was the final quarter that we were all waiting for, and it came just in time. Here are the highs and lows from the game.
Highs
Every. Single. Defensive. Player.
Could we start anywhere else? Last year, the Bills defense kept the Bills in many more games than they should have been in. And today, it was more of the same as the defense was simply phenomenal. They limited Le’Veon Bell to 93 all purpose yards- 60 on the ground and 32 through the air. 4 sacks for the defense, most of which came at key moments in the game. Sam Darnold looked uncomfortable all day, never getting into a rhythm. It was clear that the Bills were able to dictate what the Jets did on offense. In other words, Fraiser and McDermott out-coached Gase today. This defense has the opportunity to be something really special.
Devin Singletary
When a future hall of fame player is cut so you can be the feature guy, you better deliver. How about adding to that pressure that it is your first career NFL start? When talking about the Bills comeback, it would not be wrong to say that it started with Singletary. He had runs of 23, 12 and 15 on their first TD drive. All of which included impressive cuts and vision. He finished with 4 carries for 70 yards. Yeah, I think this guys is going to be pretty good.
Josh Allen in the clutch
Again, for three quarters I was really questioning if Josh Allen had grown and learned from his rookie season mistakes. Although he had 2 INT’s he easily could have finished with 5. But on the Bills two TD drives, it was the Josh Allen of the spring and summer. Quick, decisive and accurate. He did just enough for the Bills to overcome a 16 point defecit and win his 6th game as a starting quarterback.
Cory Bojorquez
It is no secret that despite winning the punting competition, Bojorquez struggled in the preseason and the Bills are looking to upgrade. But if he punts like he did today, there will be no need to upgrade. He pinned the Jets deep early and his long today was 60 yards.
Lows
Josh Allen before the comeback
Holy smokes was he bad. While you could argue that neither interception was his fault, the two fumbles certainly were. As I mentioned before, he made some really bad passes that could have resulted in more interceptions. In fact, if it wasn’t for a holding penalty (that didn’t even effect the play) he would have had 3.
Bills Twitter
This can always be a low, right? During the course of the game I saw calls for Barkley, declarations that Allen will never be “the one” and other overreactions about the outlook of the season. I know that emotions can run high during games, but let us all remember that the season (and games) are long. Allen certainly needs to improve, he will be the first one to tell you that. If he plays the way he did for the first three quarters, then he probably won’t be “the guy” but let’s wait and see how this season turns out before dreaming of Tua Tagovailoa.
There were probably more things to nit-pick out of this game but the fact remains that the Bills are 1-0 and that is really all that matters when all is said and done. Follow us at @BuffAuthority.
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