Here's a quarter by quarter look at the Buffalo Bills win against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
First quarter
Theme: A soft start for the Bills.
Run defense: The Jets rushed four times for 30 yards on their opening drive to a field goal.
Stall: Josh Allen threw incomplete on third and 3 from the Jets’ 27. He had Cole Beasley open on a quick slant, but defensive end Tarell Basham dropped back into the passing window. Allen wisely kept rolling but threw incomplete into the end zone.
Debut: Kicker Sam Ficken was out with a groin injury, so the Jets activated Sergio Castillo from the practice squad to make his NFL debut. Castillo, who spent four seasons in the Canadian Football League, made a 29-yard field goal.
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Moving up: It was Frank Gore’s 233rd game, tied for 101st all time, but most ever by a running back. It was Jerry Hughes’ 119th regular-season game with the Bills, tying for 43rd on the team’s all-time list with Hall-of-Famer Billy Shaw.
“It’s hard to win in this league,” McDermott said. “Standings don’t matter."
Not a Jet killer: Rookie kicker Tyler Bass missed field goal tries from 38 and 34 yards against the Jets in the opener. He missed wide left from 45 yards on the Bills’ first drive. It squandered a 48-yard march to the Jets’ 27.
Second quarter
Theme: Bills stop the bleeding.
Momentum shift: After the Jets took a 10-0 lead, the Bills got field goals of 53 and 48 yards from Tyler Bass.
Key play: Dane Jackson intercepted a forced throw by Sam Darnold at the Bills’ 39 with 40 seconds left to set up the 48-yard field goal.
Key stop: On a fourth-and-1 play from the Bills’ 19, Matt Milano shot up the A-gap on a run dog and forced La’Michal Perine to shift his momentum. Quinton Jefferson made the tackle.
Zebra report I: Quinnen Williams got a personal foul when his helmet bumped into Josh Allen’s helmet after a 13-yard pass to Cole Beasley. It was incidental contact, but that’s the way the foul is called.
The Buffalo Bills had a kicking problem at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Zebra report II: Micah Hyde was called for pass interference on a second-down incompletion at the Bills’ 5. It was a bad call. Hyde touched the back of receiver Breshad Perriman but didn’t influence the pass route in any way.
Consistent: Stefon Diggs stretched his catch streak to 76 games, every one of his career. Cole Beasley has caught a pass in 72 straight.
Third quarter
Theme: Bills control ball.
Play count: The Bills ran 21 plays – the Jets ran seven – and outgained New York, 102-12. The time of possession edge was 11:48 to 3:12.
Happy returns: Andre Roberts opened the half with a 58-yard kickoff return to the Jets’ 47. He caught it 5 yards deep in the end zone, but had too much speed for the Jets coverage team up the right sideline. Roberts became the 41st NFL player to have 200 kickoff returns. Roberts moved into 31st place all-time in kickoff return yards at 5,096.
Good rookie: Gabriel Davis had one catch. But he could have had an additional touchdown catch for 22 yards in the quarter. It was a superb play by Josh Allen, who beat a blitz to hit a wide-open Davis. But it was wiped out by an illegal formation penalty on the Bills. Davis became the first Bills rookie since Sammy Watkins in 2015 to have a catch in each of his first seven games.
Let's not kid ourselves about the Jets. They are a terrible team that is 0-7 on merit.
Slump snapped: The Bills outscored the opponent in the third quarter for the first time all season (6-0). Buffalo has been outscored, 47-13, in the quarter.
Fourth quarter
Theme: Wins trump style points.
Spread game: The Bills had two missed field goals and fumbled at the Jets’ 13. If they get field goals on two of those drives they would have covered the 13-point spread.
Sack attack: The Bills’ defense sealed the win with three fourth-quarter sacks. Jerry Hughes became the second Bills player since 1982 to have two sacks and an interception in a game, joining Cornelius Bennett (at the Jets in 1989).
Coaching mark: It was Sean McDermott’s 30th win, surpassing Wade Phillips for fourth most on the Bills’ coaching list. McDermott is 30-25.
Class of 2018: Josh Allen is 20-14 as a starter with 66 total touchdowns, 25 INTs, 7,181 passing yards and 1,345 rushing yards. Sam Darnold is 11-20 with 43 TDs, 34 INTs, 6,801 pass yards and 317 rush yards. The TD totals count rushing TDs.
The series: The Bills lead the series 63-56. Since 2000, the Jets lead, 22-20.
Undefeated vs. 0-6: In the Super Bowl era, the Bills are 13-0 against teams 0-6 or worse, according to ESPN. The Bills have the most wins of any team vs 0-6 clubs.
