What we learned from the Bills' win over the Jets on Monday night

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1. It was ugly, but Bills earned a hard-fought victory. Josh Allen had a typical Josh Allen game full of quality passes, excellent extension of the game and some harrowing passes attempted amid the chaos, finishing with 215 yards and two touchdowns, effectively recovering from the 9-for-30 stinker he had in Houston last week. He received a surprising amount of support from the rookie running back Ray DavisBut like the Jets, the Bills were too often held back by penalties and fell into an offensive spiral that only ended Tyler Bass converted a 22-yard field goal to give Buffalo the lead heading into the final four minutes. After marching down the field for three touchdowns in the first half, the Bills struggled to find the same success in the second half, but their defense – viz Taylor Rapp — deserves a lot of credit for keeping this game close by fending off the Jets along the goal line and making a series of vicious pass breakups to prevent potentially game-changing plays. It wasn't pretty by any means, but they all count equally, and after losing two straight, the Bills definitely needed this game.
2. Jets waste a good offensive performance. In his first game with Todd Downing as game master, Aaron Rodgers thrived, completing 23 of 35 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns. Garrett Wilson And Allen Lazard each passed for 100 receiving yards and scored a touchdown, and Breece Hall Finally broke through and had 113 rushing yards on 18 attempts. But Rodgers also got beaten down a few times by Bills rushers and again seemed frustrated with missed opportunities in the passing game. The Jets also failed to convert two promising drives into points because Greg Zuerlein hit the post with two field goal attempts. Perhaps it was fitting that Rodgers' final appearance of the game ended with an acrobatic interception that was only possible by the receiver Mike Williams slipped while trying to return to the ball. That play alone has defined the Jets in their current situation: Even when things seem to be working (Williams was more outspoken), they can't get the job done.
3. Davis delivers in place of Cook. Bow, Ray Davisone of the best pass-catching backs in the 2024 draft who showed he is also a force on the ground. Those familiar with Davis' game know him as a stocky running back with a low center of gravity that makes it pretty difficult for defenders to bring him down on first contact, and he certainly proved that on Monday night, as he racked up 97 rushing yards on 20 attempts full of hard runs. With Davis carrying the rock, the Bills went 70 yards in nine plays on their first drive, and six of those were Davis runs totaling 48 yards. It was a statement move that quickly showed that the Bills' running game should be taken seriously, even without it James Cook in the lineup. Davis wasn't done there either, catching three passes for 55 yards, including a 42-yard reception that few quarterbacks in the NFL manage. Davis was a standout on Monday night, introducing himself to the NFL world and giving opposing defenses another threat to contend with whenever they prepared to face the Bills.
4. New York falters after coach is fired. The Jets relieved Robert Saleh of his duties earlier in the week, installed defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich as interim coach for the remainder of the season and promptly gave up 359 yards of offense in a three-point loss to a division rival on national television. However, that's not the worst thing. After firing the coach in charge of the entire operation, they were penalized 11 times for 110 yards, a total that would have been a glaring problem had the Bills not also been warned 11 times (for 94 yards). The personnel changes on offense worked, but the Jets still had problems on defense, especially in the first half. They improved in the final two quarters, but couldn't get a much-needed stop after Rodgers threw an interception late in the fourth quarter and collapsed at the worst possible time. Their defense ranks second in the NFL in total yards allowed, but they have given up more than 350 yards in two of their three prime-time games this season and have been unable to keep up with the competition. Now that Saleh is gone, they no longer have a scapegoat. Fortunately, they will face two of the NFL's less productive offenses in Pittsburgh and New England over the next two weeks, but the first of those two games will once again be on a national scale. They need to sort things out quickly to start digging out of their 2-4 hole.
5. Flags everywhere. What is there to say about a game that saw a total of 22 penalties other than it was ugly? The score was close, the late game tension was riveting, but the mistakes were so common that an industrial supply of Wite-Out wouldn't be enough to correct them. Several penalties negated positive plays, including a Braelon Allen A touchdown run on third-and-1 that was erased by a hold call and would have provided a big swing in the close contest. It wasn't even the Jets' highest penalty total in a season. They suffered 13 penalties in their terrible 10-9 loss to Denver in Week 4. While we can expect daytime sports talk to spend a lot of time talking about officiating over the next 48 hours, both teams need to sort this out.

Inside Bills-Jets Next Generation Stats (via NFL Pro): Ray Davis led the Bills in rushing (20 carries for 97 yards) and receiving yards (three receptions for 55 yards) and forced five missed tackles in 23 offensive touches in place of James Cook.

NFL Research: Aaron Rodgers' first-half “Hail Mary” touchdown pass to Allen Lazard marked the fourth time he accomplished the feat. That makes him the all-time leader in most such completions by any NFL player since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.