Plays that defined 2020: Week 7—Buffalo Bills at New York Jets

What if someone told you they had the audacity to miss a Buffalo Bills game? What if you could show them one play, and one play only, to recap the whole thing? What play would you choose? Welcome to Plays that defined 2020...

Week 7: Buffalo Bills at New York Jets

What a weird game. The Bills won though and that’s what mattered. They dominated time of possession, outpaced the Jets by a large margin in overall production and should have ended the game with a much bigger point differential.

Josh Allen fumble (Q2. 11:05)

Despite a lot of success (over 300 passing yards, 422 total, six scoring drives) the Bills kept coming up short when it came to touchdowns. Buffalo repeatedly drove down the field then stalled on critical third downs, including this lost fumble. How bad was it? The Bills converted just 27 percent of their third downs (3 of 11). League average was around 40 percent and the Bills led the league at 49.7 percent on the year. League worst was 34 percent, which coincidentally was the Jets. They didn’t have a great day either, converting just 2 of 8, or 25 percent.

Tyler Bass field goal (Q2, 2:47)

Somehow the Jets took an early lead. Down by ten, and dealing with another stalled drive, Head coach Sean McDermott dialed up a 53-yard field goal. This was after a missed try from 45. Tyler Bass knocked this one through and the Bills were on the board. Why does a field goal potentially define this game? That’s the only type of score the Bills had all day. This was Bass’s longest try of the day.

Negated touchdown (Q3, 2:10)

One reason the Bills failed to reach the end zone was flags. Buffalo had 11 assessed including this negated touchdown from Josh Allen to Gabriel Davis. If you want an explanation on the penalty, here’s the recap from after the game. In addition to this problematic one, two defensive pass interference calls assisted the Jets on their touchdown drive.

Tyler Bass field goal number six (Q4, 2:00)

I usually stick to five GIFs for these but I nearly went with six and just made them all Tyler Bass kicking the crap out of the ball. I settled for two of the six—the longest of the day, which was his first successful kick, and his last one. This one also was a record setter. It broke the team record for most attempts in a single game, and tied the team record for most made in a game.

Jerry Hughes’s interception (Q4, 1:16)

After the early lead from the Jets, the Bills shut them completely down. This interception from Jerry Hughes was the final nail in the coffin for the Jets, but let’s discuss the second-half stats. The longest drive was 12 yards. Two drives went backwards. The net yardage for the Jets in the second half was four yards. Feel free to read that sentence as many times as you need. Four yards in 30 minutes of football. Four!

It’s time to vote for the play that defined the game. Remember, it’s the play that best tells the overall story of this contest, not necessarily a favorite play or best highlight.

Note: To vote in the poll, you’ll need to go to a web browser if you’re reading this on your mobile device news service.