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Sauce Gardner and the Jets get a huge win over the Bills
When the Buffalo Bills released the artist’s rendering of their new stadium, they included a scoreboard notation that showed Buffalo beating the New York Jets by a final score of 24-3.
It seems the Jets took note of that, and they had the last laugh both on the field, and on social media, on Sunday.
The Jets, a week removed from a disappointing loss to the New England Patriots that saw quarterback Zach Wilson throw three interceptions, knocked off Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills by a final score of 20-17. Wilson, after facing a storm of criticism after the loss to the Patriots, did not turn the football over and threw the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. The second-year quarterback finished the day having completed 18 of 25 passes for 154 yards and a score.
It was actually Allen, however, who turned the football over on Sunday. Allen threw an interception on the opening drive of the game, ending what looked to be an impressive drive from the Bills to start the day:
Buffalo would take a 14-10 lead into the locker room at the halftime break, and it looked like they were going to build on that lead in the third quarter. The Jets received the second-half kickoff and Wilson had New York on the move, but then Von Miller made the kind of play that Brandon Beane envisioned when adding the pass rusher in the offseason:
The strip sack not only ended a promising Jets’ possession, but gave the ball to Allen and the Bills’ offense.
Sauce Gardner got it right back:
On 2nd and 17, Gardner jams Gabriel Davis off the line and then sinks underneath his release in zone coverage. But the rookie cornerback does a tremendous job of reading Allen’s eyes, and when the Bills passer tries to squeeze in the vertical route, Gardner uses his impressive length to get himself into the throwing lane for the critical interception.
The Jets took advantage of the great field position, as James Robinson scored his first touchdown for Gang Green to give New York the lead:
Buffalo would tie the game on their next possession, with a 51-yard field goal from Tyler Bass. But after the two teams traded punts, the Jets took over possession on their own 4-yard line, with just under eight minutes remaining. From there, New York put together an impressive 13-play, 86-yard drive that brought them deep into Bills’ territory, and worked over six minutes off the clock. They were forced to settle for a field goal when Wilson was sacked on 3rd and goal at the Buffalo 2-yard line, but a short Greg Zuerlein field goal gave the Jets the lead again.
Perhaps more importantly, the Bills were forced to burn all three timeouts to conserve time for the their offense.
Still, Allen was looming on the sideline, with his best friend F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo in the stands looking on. But the Jets’ defense had two more big plays left. First it was pass rusher Bryce Huff, who beat the right tackle to get to Allen and knock the football loose:
Buffalo would recover, but the Bills lost 19 yards on the play and faced a 3rd and 21 on the next snap. Perhaps more critical, however, was the fact that Allen got up after the play flexing his right arm and holding it near the elbow, in obvious pain. That will be something to monitor going forward.
The last big defensive play of the game? It came from who else, but Gardner. With Allen trying to connect on a deep shot to Davis, Gardner again showed off that imposing length, staying stride-for-stride with the receiver and preventing him from making the catch:
The rookie cornerback had another creative celebration for after the victory, marked by his making snow angels on the MetLife turf:
It was another celebration that the rookie cornerback earned with his play. He did give up a big play early, but his interception set up a big touchdown for the Jets, and his play on the final snap secured the win.
With the victory in hand, it was time for the Jets’ social media department to get the last laugh:
After the game, Allen was pretty direct in his assessment:
#Bills QB Josh Allen: “It’s tough to win when your quarterback plays like shit.”
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 6, 2022
The win, coupled with results from around the NFL, made things a bit more interesting in the AFC East. Buffalo dropped to 6-2 on the season, with both the Jets, and the Miami Dolphins, right behind them with matching 6-3 records. Then there are the Patriots, who thanks to their Sunday win over the Indianapolis Colts, check in at fourth place in the division with a 5-4 record.
The AFC East might be must-watch television down the stretch.
