Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass outscored the entire New York Jets on Sunday afternoon, converting a franchise-record six field goals in an 18-10 victory that dropped Gang Green to 0-7 on the season.
The Jets offense went missing in the second half, gaining just four total yards on 16 plays in the last two quarters. They let a struggling Bills side off the hook with their offensive ineptitude that overshadowed Buffalo’s inability to score a touchdown on any of their four trips on the day.
A ten-point, second-half disappearance was hardly the return that the Jets were hoping for with the return of quarterback Sam Darnold, who missed the previous two games with a shoulder injury. They’ve now scored a combined 20 points over their last three games as head coach Adam Gase handed over offensive play-calling duties to coordinator Dowell Loggains for Week 7.
It looked as though the decision was going to be a revelation as a promising opening Jets drive that was fueled by Frank Gore’s 26 yards on three carries stalled in the red zone after New York failed to call the veteran’s number once they were inside Buffalo’s 20-yard-line.
Regardless, the 31-yard field goal from Sergio Castillo provided the Jets with their first lead since Week 4 against the Denver Broncos. They had held a lead in just six-and-a-half minutes of play throughout the first six games of the season.
Buffalo drove right into Jets territory within the ensuing two minutes, but Bass’ 45-yard field-goal attempt missed wide left. It clinched the Jets’ first end-of-quarter lead of the year.
Back into the red zone the Jets drove following the Bills’ missed chance at points and proceeded to gift them momentum. Back in the red zone on a 4th-&-1 attempt, La’Mical Perine was stuffed short of the market to ensure the Jets came away with nothing at the start of the second quarter.
More Bills miscues allowed the Jets to keep and build on their lead. Quarterback Josh Allen was strip-sacked on the Jets’ 14-yard-line and was scooped up by Jets defensive end John Franklin-Myers with 11 minutes to go in the second.
With that momentum, the Jets made Buffalo pay, going 80 yards on seven plays, ending with Perine’s first NFL touchdown from five yards out. Their 10-0 lead was their largest of the season.
Buffalo would get three back as Bass redeemed himself, connecting on a career-long 53-yard field goal to cut New York’s lead back to seven with 2:47 to go in the half.
But the Jets couldn’t see out the first half without some normal Jets-like happenings. Darnold was picked off by Dane Jackson at the Buffalo 39-yard-line with 49 seconds left, prompting a cold streak from New York’s offense that extended well into the fourth, featuring three-straight punts to start the second half.
Allen managed to get the Bills down to the Jets’ 30 with two seconds left in the half for Bass to knock through a 48-yard field goal as time expired to cut the Jets lead to four at the break. It was down to one five minutes into the third quarter as the Bills drove down for Bass to snag another field goal from 46 yards out.
The Jets got away with allowing a touchdown within the last three minutes of the third thanks to an illegal-formation penalty wiping away a 22-yard scoring pass from Allen, but Bass did hit his fourth field goal of the day from 37 yards out to give the Bills their first lead of the day heading into the fourth.
Four minutes later, he missed his second of the day as the Bills once again stalled deep in Jets territory, setting up the inaccurate 37-yard attempt.
As the Jets offense continued sputtering cold, so did the Bills’ red-zone offense as Allen was sacked on a 3rd-&-4 from the host’s six-yard-line, prompting another Bass field goal that was a chip shot to go up 15-10 with six minutes left.
Allen was stuffed on a QB keeper just outside the Jets’ 20-yard-line at the two-minute warning for Bass to make it an eight-point game, this time from 40 yards out.
Still a one-possession game, the Jets had one last chance to find an equalizer, but Darnold was picked off for a second time when his pass was batted down at the line and picked off by Jerry Hughes to ice the win for the Bills.
