Recapping five New York Jets to watch against Buffalo Bills

The New York Jets led the Buffalo Bills for a greater amount of time than they have led all of their opponents in 2020 combined. In the end, it didn’t matter, as the result of the game was the same as every other game the Jets have played this season. Even though New York did not allow a touchdown, they still found themselves on the losing end of an 18-10 score.

Buffalo was able to corral the Jets’ top players, especially in the second half. Here’s how our players to watch performed on the afternoon.

QB Sam Darnold

The third-year quarterback started off hot, hitting on 11 of his first 13 passes. His final pass of the first half was an interception, as he hit rookie Dane Jackson right in the hands around midfield. From that point on, Darnold was dreadful. After a half that saw Darnold go 11-of-15 for 116 yards, he finished the game having completed 12-of-23 passes for 120 yards and two interceptions. In the second half of the game, Jerry Hughes caught as many of Darnold’s passes as his receivers did. That’s incredible. It’s a shame to see how badly the Jets have screwed this up, as Darnold genuinely seems like a great dude. He has been hampered by a lack of supporting talent in literally every area of the field—Darnold has no receivers or running backs to speak of, and his offensive line has continued its horrendous play.

RB La’Mical Perine

The rookie scored his first career touchdown on a five-yard run in the second quarter, and he also broke off a 20-yard run on one of his carries. For the day, though, Perine carried it 11 times for just 39 yards, meaning that he only managed 14 yards on his other nine rushes. He also caught two passes for 16 yards on the day. It was the ageless Frank Gore who led the Jets in rushing, totaling 60 yards on 11 carries.

WR Jamison Crowder

The Jets’ top slot wideout did not play thanks to a groin injury. Rookie Denzel Mims made his debut, however, and he caught four passes for 42 yards in the first half. He was shut out in the second half.

CB Pierre Desir

The veteran corner had a solid day, notching two pass breakups and three tackles in a game where the Jets kept Buffalo out of the end zone. The Bills’ lone touchdown was called back on a penalty, as Gabriel Davis beat Bless Austin on a pump-and-go move, but someone was deemed to have lined up off the line of scrimmage. In any event, Desir wasn’t a liability in the deep game, as he did a good job keeping plays in front of him to force the Bills into longer drives.

S Marcus Maye

The versatile safety performed well on Sunday, totaling ten tackles in the loss. He blitzed a bit, he played deep, and he came into the middle of the field effectively. On Tyler Kroft’s stumbling long grab, Maye appeared to be one of the defenders who was fooled by the route combination. Overall, though, he played fairly well, especially in the red zone. Two of his tackles included stops of Josh Allen and Devin Singletary inside the ten-yard line.