Tag: EJ Manuel

Jets End Season With Win Over Buffalo, 30-10

Whatever happened this afternoon, Jets fans could be comforted by the fact that they were not going to be embarrassed by Rex Ryan again, as Buffalo had fired their head coach earlier in the week.

But it was a good afternoon for the Jets, who ended their 2016 campaign with a 30-10 victory over Buffalo and a record of 5-11.

Buffalo and New York, two average or worse division rivals, traded possessions until the second quarter, when the Jets drew first blood on a drive that featured a 51 yard hookup between somehow-still-starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and wide receiver Quincy Enunwa, who has emerged as a pleasant offensive weapon this season. Running back Bilal Powell caught the short touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick.

The teams went back to trading possession until about 2 minutes left in the half, when Buffalo got on the scoreboard with a field goal. The Jets led 10-3 at the half after coming down the field and getting into field goal range. Kicker Nick Folk came out for the kick with 2 seconds left and nailed it.

There was no further scoring until 4:03 to go in the third quarter, when Jalin Marshall dove to break the plane for another Jets touchdown. The jets led 17-3. It was confirmed by the officials on replay. The Jets originally recovered the ball on a Buffalo fumble, so the drive started at the Bills 13 and only took 3 plays to complete.

The Jets recovered the fumble the Bills committed on their next drive. While this drive also began in Buffalo territory, it ended in a field goal, and the Jets extended their lead to 20-3 as time expired in the third quarter.

The Bills turned the ball over again when quarterback EJ Manuel was intercepted by cornerback Darrelle Revis deep in Bills territory. The Jets scored a field goal off, extending the lead to 23-3. They scored again on the ensuing kickoff, when safety Doug Middleton jumped on the ball in the endzone that the Bills didn’t play. The lead became 30-3.

Buffalo made one last valiant effort for the endzone, helped greatly when Revis fell down and the Bills second quarterback of the day, Cardale Jones, completed a 64 yard pass to wide receiver Justin Hunter who was caught by safety Rontez Miles at the 1. It took three tries after that, but the Bills finally stuffed it into the endzone to make the score 30-10 with 39 seconds to go.

The Jets took a knee on the kickoff, and that wrapped 2016.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, in likely his final game as a Jet, had a decent afternoon. His final line on the day was 20/30 for 210 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions for a 109 rating. Bilal Powell led all rushers with 22 carries for 122 yards. Quincy Enunwa led all receivers with 5 receptions for 81 yards.

David Harris led the Jets defense with 8 tackles, followed by lineback Darron Lee with 7 and defensive end Sheldon Richardson with 6. Nose tackle Deon Simon, defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, and linebacker Jordan Jenkins all had sacks for the Jets. Revis had the only interception.

See you in September.

Jets Stumble But Hold Off Bills, 27-20

It might be time to accept that the Jets will only play ugly games this season, but they survived their own disciplinary issues to hold off the Buffalo Bills, 27-20, in Week 03 to improve to 2-1.

By the end of the first half, it looked like the Jets were going to cruise to an easy victory. They led 17-6 at the half, opening the game with a touchdown drive capped by rookie quarterback Geno Smith running eight yards up the middle into the end zone and converting another score later in the half on a perfectly thrown ball to Stephen Hill for a 51 yard touchdown pass.

Even with Smith throwing an interception in his own end and a few miscues, the Jets defense held the Bills to field goals.

The second half is when things began to unravel. After two bad challenges from Rex Ryan and the Jets coaching staff, the Bills only touchdown of the game came during a comically sloppy series from the Jets defense. The Jets managed to negate two fumble recoveries and Kyle Wilson might have surpassed Clyde Gates on Jets fans’ “Most Hated” list. Wilson committed a number of fouls that cost the Jets multiple stops.

He was finally pulled, but it was too late. The Bills scored a TD and converted the two point attempt to tie the game at 20-20.

Although he threw another interception earlier in the half, on the drive after Buffalo’s touchdown, Smith bounced back to complete a 69 yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes, taking back the lead for good, 27-20, early in the fourth.

The Jets offense had some bugs – including a miscommunication between Smith and center Nick Mangold which resulted in Bilal Powell chasing the ball deep into the backfield – but looked better today.

Chris Ivory left the game with an injury in the first quarter, and Powell hauled the load for the Jets, with 27 carries for 149 yards. Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes both had 100 yard receiving games. Holmes had five receptions for 154 yards and Hill had three receptions for 108 yards.

Geno Smith finished the game 16 of 29 for 331 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a QB rating of 89.9.

The Jets defense, aside from the drive in which Kyle Wilson personally helped the Bills score their lone touchdown, held firm today. They bailed the offense out on all their miscues, and knocked Bills rookie quarterback EJ Manuel off his feet good and hard, dialing up the pressure and recording eight sacks. Buffalo had allowed one sack in the previous two games.

The Jets were sloppy today – sloppier than we’ve seen them all season and sloppier than we’ve seen them in years – committing a team record of 20 penalties for 168 yards. That is obviously something that has to change if the Jets want to continue winning. They won’t be playing the Bills every week.

The Jets visit Tennessee next Sunday for Week 04. Kickoff is at 4:05.