New York finished last in the division with 4 wins and will now have two top picks in the NFL draft, which they hope will provide them with players that can make an immediate impact. The Jets fought back Sunday but found it difficult to get past the Buffalo linemen in their final game of the season.
“They’re one of the best defenses in football,” said first year head coach Robert Saleh. “We just could not run the ball very well.”
The Jets offense only had 53 total yards (the lowest in team history) compared to the Bills 424 yards. New York failed on 13 of 14 third down attempts.
“One, it comes down to this is a really good defense, right?,” said Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson about the difficulty of moving the ball. “I would say the elements kind of just were a pain in the butt as well as far as just not being able to be as efficient but we’ve got to take advantage of our opportunities.”
Wilson completed 7 of 20 attempted passes for 87-yards. Bills quarterback Josh Allen completed 24 of 45 passes for 239-yards while rushing for 63.
Buffalo scored first as Allen hit wide receiver Stefan Diggs with a 10-yard touchdown pass. They added 3 more after a Tyler Bass 41-yard field goal increasing the lead to 10-0. The Jets got on the board after both teams punted twice in the second quarter.
With 3:51 minutes remaining in the second quarter, Wilson completed a 40-yard pass to wide receiver Keelan Cole. “They had the safety coming down to play the hole and I just tried to trust it and put one on his body and Keelan did a great job of cross-courting that one and taking it all the way,” Wilson said. “Just a good job of him winning the one-on one.”
New York trailed 13-7 at halftime. Piñeiro kicked a 49- yard field goal with 3:55 minutes remaining in the third quarter bringing the team within 3 (13-10) as the third quarter came to an end. The Jets defense did not make it easy for the Bills. “We felt like, because of the aggression with regards to the way we were covering today, it made him (Josh Allen) throw perfect,” Saleh said in regards to the defense forcing punts. “In these conditions, it’s hard to do that, so really, really pumped up for the defense. I thought they played their absolute butts off.”
Buffalo defense had 28 total tackles and 11 assists and sacked Wilson 9 times. The Jets defense had 46 total tackles and 22 assists and zero Wilson sacks.
“There were some opportunities there to get some sacks and make some plays to shift some moments, but we weren’t able to make them and we got to be able to make them,” said defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. “We have had in other games, but in this game we really needed to come up with those plays. We’ve got a long way to go if we want to close the gap with Buffalo, and New England and Miami for that matter.”
Saleh said developing young players and adding players with top draft picks and free agency will be the teams focus. Looking ahead the Jets will have the 4th and 10th overall picks in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft in April.
Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
