It had all the makings of a trap game and the Jets tumbled down the abyss.
The winless Bills entered the game battered and bruised on both sides of the ball and had rookies starting at quarterback and running back, but they made enough plays and Chad Pennington's two picks cost the Jets dearly as Buffalo downed the Green and White 17-14 in Orchard Park on Sunday.
The phrase "disappointing loss" doesn't even come close to accurately describing this one. There were moments when the Jets looked unstoppable on offense and other times when they seemed content with 3-yard passes. The defense played their best game of the season by far, but failed to make big stops when they needed to and made Trent Edwards look like Tom Brady.
REASONS TO GET UP ON MONDAY:
Jerricho Cotchery. The fourth-year wideout came away with his second 100-yard receiving day of the season. His 8 receptions and 106 receiving yards led both teams on Sunday. He was almost knocked out when Pennington laid him out on a high pass in the first half, but Cotchery is a tough guy and finished up strong. The only down side so far for Cotchery is that he has yet to reach the end zone this season. Unacceptable.
Run defense. I thought the Bills would come out and try and power their way to a victory. That didn't happen, but the Jets stymied rookie running back Marshawn Lynch whenever he carried the football. Gang Green held an opponent under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season. The Bills rushed the ball 28 times on Sunday for only 86 yards -- a 3.1 yard average -- and Lynch finished with only 79 yards rushing. Still it wasn't all hunky-dory for the Jets -- they allowed the rookie from Cal to get into the end zone on a 10-yard run to give the Bills a 7-0 lead in the third quarter.
REASONS TO SLEEP IN ON MONDAY:
Pass defense. Trent Edwards made his first NFL start on Sunday, but he looked anything but green out there against the Jets. Maybe Edwards is the second coming of Jim Kelly in Buffalo, but the Jets made it look far too easy. The D was unable to harass the rookie and allowed Edwards to sit back and basically pick them apart. The rookie finished 22 of 28 for 234 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. And Edwards was able to do this without a consistent running attack. Terrible. Darrelle Revis had his first tough game in the NFL and not even two first half turnovers could derail the Buffalo passing attack.
Mike Nugent. Both squads sputtered offensively in the first half, but the Jets put together a nice drive right before halftime -- which included a pretty fake spike by Pennington and a pass to Coles for 16 yards -- and positioned Nugent for a 37-yard field goal attempt with 1 second left in the half. Nugent hit the upright.
Chad Pennington. Pennington completed a career-best 32 passes on Sunday and finished 32 of 39 for 290 yards and a touchdown, but his two interceptions were back-breakers. The first came early in the fourth quarter with the Jets down 10-7. It looked like Pennington and Laveranues Coles weren't on the same page and Jabari Greer stepped in front of the Jets wideout and gave Buffalo the ball at the Jets 25. Six plays later, the Bills were up 17-7. The second came with 11 seconds left in the game and the Jets down 17-14. Gang Green was on the Bills 39-yard line and Pennington flipped an ill-advised pass down the sideline for Justin McCareins. It was a horrible pass and Terrence McGee made the pick. Those two passes cancelled out an otherwise fine day for Pennington.
Zero running game. Running back Thomas Jones did nothing on the ground in the ballgame, but the Jets never really gave him an opportunity. Jones finished with 12 carries for only 35 yards. What the hell? Leon Washington had 4 rushes for 24 yards and an impressive 8-yard TD run (the first for a Jets running back this season), but the Jets finished the game with only 19 carries as a team for a paltry 60 yards. That ain't gonna get it done, fellas.
Yellow flags. The Jets have been one of the least penalized teams in the league since the Herm Edwards era, but that wasn't the case on Sunday. The Green and White were penalized 9 times for 65 yards.
Sunday's loss leaves the Jets at 1-3 on the year, tied with the Bills for "second" in the AFC East.
Not exactly what I had in mind as we head into October.
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