The Buffalo Bills are trailing 10-6 against the New York Jets through two quarters of football. Let’s cover that again: The 4-2 Bills, a team that intends to win the AFC East, is losing to the 0-6 Jets, who should be firing their head coach any day now. It’s an ugly game, one that already had nine accepted penalties, and it’s an especially bad look for Buffalo.
The offense is out of sync, with poor blocking, poor playcalling, and bad rapport between Josh Allen and his receivers. Allen’s already lost a fumble on a strip sack, and he lost the ball earlier on a scramble (but his knee was down). The Bills, for some reason, called 14 consecutive passing plays before their first called run play, midway through the second quarter. In three drives, the Bills have had a turnover, a field goal, and a missed field goal.
Meanwhile, the defense cannot get out of their own way. They’ve let the Jets move up and down the field, dominating time of possession in the first half. Luckily, they limited the damage (and the Jets aren’t a good offense anyway)—New York only managed ten points on four drives. They have an excuse—a motley crew of backup cornerbacks and linebackers pressed into service—but the Jets’ offense is also decimated, and Buffalo could not force a punt.
There’s one saving grace, so far—as the Jets were driving at the close of the half, rookie cornerback Dane Jackson landed his first career interception. It prevented the Jets from opening up a bigger lead, and gave the Bills one more crack at points. The Bills methodically moved the ball 43 yards on six plays in the final minute of the half, setting up a 48-yard field goal attempt with two seconds left in the half—and Tyler Bass nailed it to cut the deficit to four points.
We’ll have to hope that the Bills found their stride, heading into the dreaded third quarter. Because they have work to do before they can vanquish the Jets and move on to next week. Here’s your thread for the rest of the game. Go Bills!