What seemed like it was going to be yet another bad game turned out to be one of the most intriguing and promising game and for what is to come in the future, as the Jets win in comeback fashion and avenge their bad loss in the first meeting against the Buffalo Bills by a score of 27 to 23 thanks to a go ahead score by Elijah McGuire. This was the first matchup between two highly regarded rookie quarterbacks that look to bring a championship to both of these franchises and they didn't disappoint. Josh Allen started things off by driving the Bills down the field and scoring twice on their first three drives, meanwhile Sam Darnold went out for a series with a foot injury but returned after to finish the game and that's when everything started to turn around.
After the Bills scored their second touchdown in the first quarter to make it 14 to 3, any Jets fan including myself would thought it was over. But when Trenton Cannon walked in the end zone and made it 17-13 late in the second quarter followed by the blocked field goal you really started to feel the momentum shift to the Jets side. Of course they got a minor setback after a fumble by Andre Roberts on the opening second half kickoff that led to a Bills field goal, but after that the Jets had two fourth quarter touchdowns (one was the go ahead score) the Bills had couldn't answer with their own comeback as Josh Allen threw a pick to Trumaine Johnson end the game.
One of the biggest takeaways from this game was the way Special teams had played despite the fumble on the second half kickoff, Andre Roberts had 186 yards running on the kickoff returns that set up the Jets offense in great field position. In fact the jets only started deep in their own field position twice throughout the entire game, and they also blocked a field goal as well in the closing seconds of the first half. This side of the ball has been one of the few bright spots throughout the season and this has been the best since Mike Westhoff was the special teams coach. If I were to make a case as to who should stay on this Jets coaching staff, it would be Brant Boyer because of how he coached the special teams all year.
As for the rest of the Jets teams, I was impressed by the defense and how they adjusted after allowing two touchdowns in the first quarter. They were able to contain Josh Allen from running the ball and forced three turnovers, he finished the day 18/36 for 206 yards and two interceptions in addition to the forced fumble. He was able to connect on some big throws but they only gave up three field goals that kept the Jets in the game. They also sacked Allen three times and shut down the Bills running game that burned them in the first meeting.
The main focus was the battle between the two rookies and Darnold won the first meeting. Although Allen threw for more yards, Darnold was more accurate as he completed 66% compared to Allen's 50% completion rating. Darnold only had two bad throws and was the perfect example that he was trying to do too much just like Allen but there more great throws than bad, for example: the touchdown throw to Robby Anderson where Darnold kept the play alive with his feet before threading the needle on the touchdown throw. The other was the deep bomb to Anderson which was a perfect dime over Bills star corner Tre'Davious White.
I know Jets fans wanted them to lose out so they could get the number 1 pick in the draft, but I would take this comeback win led by Sam Darnold any day because this is part of his development to being a franchise quarterback. This will help him gain that type of experience in the future so why lose out when you can see what they have with this young talent and be competitive? The Jets will be heading back home next week and take on the Houston Texans who lost to the Colts after going on a nine game win streak. This will be another test for Darnold as he will be going up against a very good defense that features J.J Watt.