Allen looks lost as Bills squander golden opportunity in week one
The Buffalo Bills and New York Jets each came into week one of the 2023 NFL season with arguably the largest playoff aspirations in the entire league. The game, on Monday, Sept. 11 provided a chance for each squad to get off on the right foot and work towards a chance at the AFC East crown and beyond.
The first quarter began with a quiet drive by Buffalo before New York suffered a devastating blow on the offensive side of the ball. Four snaps into his Jets career, Rodgers was sacked by newly-acquired Bills’ linebacker Leonard Floyd. Rodgers appeared to roll his ankle before being carted from the sideline to the locker room with an Achilles injury. The Jets’ hopes for the game and season as a whole seemed to fall right out from under them as third-year quarterback Zach Wilson came out on the field to replace him.
The Bills got the ball back quickly and worked down the field on an 11-play drive which culminated in a 40-yard field goal by kicker Tyler Bass and their first points of the season. After a punt by New York to close out the first quarter, Buffalo received the ball once again but after a sack and short pass, quarterback Josh Allen hurled it deep down the field before it was picked off by Jets’ safety Jordan Whitehead. This would prove to become the first interception of the night both thrown by Allen and caught by Whitehead.
The Jets took advantage of the turnover and worked 88 yards downfield, primarily due to an 83-yard rush by second-year running back Breece Hall, to tie the game at three on a field goal.
Buffalo answered swiftly, as the offense tore apart New York’s defense for another 11 plays and 75 yards. The drive ended on a five-yard touchdown pass to receiver Stefon Diggs to give the Bills a seven-point lead with less than five minutes in the first half.
Another short Wilson-led drive for the Jets resulted in the first turnover all season caused by the Bills' defense, as linebacker Matt Milano picked the ball off and gave Buffalo another opportunity before the break. A nine-play drive that resulted in another field goal brought the game to halftime with Buffalo leading 13-3.
Coming out of the half, the Jets put together their longest drive of the night, play-wise, as they gained 50 yards on 12 plays. A 43-yard field goal by kicker Greg Zuerlein pulled the team to within one touchdown early in the third quarter.
The Bills, with a chance to extend their lead to two scores once again, converted on several short plays before Allen decided to launch the ball 41 yards downfield in the direction of Diggs and the endzone. Instead of Diggs, Allen found Whitehead once again as the safety came down with his second interception of the night. The Jets were unable to exploit the turnover and punted the ball right back to the Bills.
The next two drives were equally uneventful before Buffalo regained possession at the start of the fourth quarter and made their way downfield with another series of short passes and rushes. The team’s momentum came to a screeching halt once more, as Allen found himself impatient and unwilling to work through the defense as he attempted to throw the ball for a huge gain one more time. Like the last attempt, the ball found its way into the hands of the Jets’ defense and, more specifically, Whitehead’s, before the Jets’ offense took the field.
A 24-yard catch-and-run by receiver Allen Lazard and a 14-yard reception by 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson put the Jets in the red zone. Wilson then found himself in the front corner of the endzone, making a miraculous one-handed catch for a touchdown which tied the game.
With the game tied for the first time since the beginning of the second quarter, Josh Allen fumbled the ball on the first play of the Bills’ drive for his fourth turnover of the game. The fumble led to a Jets field goal to give them the lead with less than two minutes to play.
The Bills were able to get nine plays off on offense as they tried to get every last yard toward a field goal and ended up at the Jets’ 42-yard line. Bass came out and doinked the ball off the left upright and in, to tie the game incredibly, as time expired in regulation.
In overtime, Buffalo received the ball first but couldn’t make any progress, forcing them to punt after only three plays. The kick from punter Sam Martin was returned 65 yards by undrafted rookie receiver Xavier Gipson for a walk-off week one victory for New York.
The devastating 22-16 loss has some serious AFC East implications as it could set the Bills up for some trouble late in the season, while the Jets came out with the victory on the field but may have taken the most damage if 39-year-old Rodgers did indeed tear his Achilles.
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