Game Observations (BUF)

[KRL]

Surreal, mind-numbing, resilient and proud.  The words that describe the
emotional roller coaster of an opening 22-16 Jet win over BUF:

Surreal - to watch the pre-game "light show" and intro of Aaron Rodgers
as a Jet

Mind-numbing - to lose Rodgers to an Achilles injury four plays into his
Jet career

Resilient - the effort of the team to stabilize and rebound from Rodgers
injury

Proud - of the win and how each phase contributed

But as Robert Saleh said in Hard Knocks, "Now What?".  Because Rodgers is
gone, Zach Wilson is your starter and no one is cancelling the rest of the
season.  The defense is elite, the special teams are much improved, the
running game is explosive and there's talent all over the offense.
Can Nathaniel Hackett, Todd Downing and Rodgers "nurse" Wilson into an
effective game manager?  We'll see, but for now let's recap a thrilling win:

(Stats from: https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401547352)

Special Teams

- Thomas Morstead was consistent with a 43.5 average and pinned BUF inside
the 20 twice

- Greg Zuerlein was a perfect 3/3 on FGs and 1/1 on XP

- Xavier Gipson was electric with a 23 yard avg on KO and a 33 yard avg
on punts and the game winning 65 yard TD  

Defense

- Fantastic effort by the entire defense as they generated 5 sacks, 4 turnovers
and held BUF to 3 points in the second half and OT

- Nice "pattern breakers" shown by Jeff Ulbrich as he ran the defense.  Through
out the game he ran 3 safety looks in coverage and brought blitz pressure from
the secondary (Tony Adams and Michael Carter)

- Poor game by Sauce Gardner and credit to him for taking responsibility for it
after the game.  Based on his comments Gardner said due to the late start of the
game his body was sluggish in the first half.  And I would agree as he gave up too
much to Stefon Diggs and missed some tackles 

- Terrific game by DJ Reed as he was solid in coverage and had 11 Tackles

- Quincy Williams was all over the field with 10 Tackles, TFL and a TD saving
pass breakup in the end zone

- Not to be outdone by his brother Quinnen Williams had 5 Tackles, TFL, QB Hit
and a fumble recovery

- Other star performers on the DLine were:
  * Jermaine Johnson with 5 Tackles, Sack, 2 TFL and a QB Hit
  * John Franklin-Myers with 4 Tackles, Sack, TFL and 2 QB Hits
  * Quinton Jefferson with 3 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 2 TFL and 3 QB Hits

- Terrific performance by the safety duo in both phases.  In coverage Tony Adams
and Jordan Whitehead had excellent communication covering and passing off receivers.
When was the last time we had safeties that could comfortably cover a WR like 
Diggs?  Whitehead had 3 INTs and 3 pass break ups while Adams had 5 Tackles 

- Excellent recovery by the defense in overtime to get BUF off the field quickly
with a three and out:
 * False start by the BUF RT
 * Allen incompletion to the TE
 * Three yard run
 * Tight coverage by Reed on Diggs to force an incompletion

- Finally let's take a look at the last three games Josh Allen has played against
this defense, his numbers are:

63/102   61%   Comp Pct
588                  Yards
2                      TD
5                      INT
1                      Fumble
13                    Sacks

Offense

- Even though it's painful let's take a quick look at Aaron Rodgers series.  Based upon
the cut blocks of Mekhi Becton and Duane Brown the plays he got hit/injured on should've
been "quick hitters" to receivers.  Cut blocks are done to make defenders get their hands
down so a quick throw can take place.  But on both times he held the ball, was Rodgers so
amped up by the crowd that he wanted to make "sexy" plays?  Unfortunately I doubt anyone
in the local media will ask him that question, maybe Pat McAfee will

- With Rodgers going down nice adjustments by Hackett to get the running game going by
deploying 3 TE sets.  Jeremy Ruckert was devastating caving in the edge of BUF DLine to
free Breece Hall for his 80+ yard run.  In addition Hackett deployed both Breece Hall
and Dalvin Cook in the backfield at the same time

- I'm going to be completely honest, with Zach Wilson back as starter my best hope for this
team is competing for a playoff spot.  Wilson has to improve or someone else (Tim Boyle?)
has to show competency from the position for me to hope for anything more.  Wilson was
14/21 (66% Comp Pct) for 140 yards with a TD and an INT.  The best part of those "middling"
stats was how they broke down:

First Half - he was 5/8 for 40 yards and an INT (3 points)
Second Half - he was 9/13 for 100 yards with a TD (19 points, 13 of which he was responsible)

Hackett made adjustments at halftime (more screens) and Wilson settled down to be more 
efficient.  The plan was not to see Wilson before the 2025 season but here we are.  What will
he do with the opportunity?

- Breece Hall was a beast with 10 carries for 127 yards on the ground and one catch for 20
yards in the passing game.  Can anyone say Adrian Peterson in his prime?

- Dalvin Cook was solid with 13 carries for 33 yards and 3 catches for 26 yards

- Allen Lazard was the "big" receiver on the night with 2 catches for 46 yards

- Garrett Wilson grinded his way to 5 catches for 34 yards with the ridiculous one handed
juggling TD
 

[OilfieldJet]

A+ on Special Teams

A on Defense

B on Offense

[since1975]

39 minutes ago, KRL said:

Surreal, mind-numbing, resilient and proud.  The words that describe the
emotional roller coaster of an opening 22-16 Jet win over BUF:

Surreal - to watch the pre-game "light show" and intro of Aaron Rodgers
as a Jet

Mind-numbing - to lose Rodgers to an Achilles injury four plays into his
Jet career

Resilient - the effort of the team to stabilize and rebound from Rodgers
injury

Proud - of the win and how each phase contributed

But as Robert Saleh said in Hard Knocks, "Now What?".  Because Rodgers is
gone, Zach Wilson is your starter and no one is cancelling the rest of the
season.  The defense is elite, the special teams are much improved, the
running game is explosive and there's talent all over the offense.
Can Nathaniel Hackett, Todd Downing and Rodgers "nurse" Wilson into an
effective game manager?  We'll see, but for now let's recap a thrilling win:

(Stats from: https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401547352)

Special Teams

- Thomas Morstead was consistent with a 43.5 average and pinned BUF inside
the 20 twice

- Greg Zuerlein was a perfect 3/3 on FGs and 1/1 on XP

- Xavier Gipson was electric with a 23 yard avg on KO and a 33 yard avg
on punts and the game winning 65 yard TD  

Defense

- Fantastic effort by the entire defense as they generated 5 sacks, 4 turnovers
and held BUF to 3 points in the second half and OT

- Nice "pattern breakers" shown by Jeff Ulbrich as he ran the defense.  Through
out the game he ran 3 safety looks in coverage and brought blitz pressure from
the secondary (Tony Adams and Michael Carter)

- Poor game by Sauce Gardner and credit to him for taking responsibility for it
after the game.  Based on his comments Gardner said due to the late start of the
game his body was sluggish in the first half.  And I would agree as he gave up too
much to Stefon Diggs and missed some tackles 

- Terrific game by DJ Reed as he was solid in coverage and had 11 Tackles

- Quincy Williams was all over the field with 10 Tackles, TFL and a TD saving
pass breakup in the end zone

- Not to be outdone by his brother Quinnen Williams had 5 Tackles, TFL, QB Hit
and a fumble recovery

- Other star performers on the DLine were:
  * Jermaine Johnson with 5 Tackles, Sack, 2 TFL and a QB Hit
  * John Franklin-Myers with 4 Tackles, Sack, TFL and 2 QB Hits
  * Quinton Jefferson with 3 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 2 TFL and 3 QB Hits

- Terrific performance by the safety duo in both phases.  In coverage Tony Adams
and Jordan Whitehead had excellent communication covering and passing off receivers.
When was the last time we had safeties that could comfortably cover a WR like 
Diggs?  Whitehead had 3 INTs and 3 pass break ups while Adams had 5 Tackles 

- Excellent recovery by the defense in overtime to get BUF off the field quickly
with a three and out:
 * False start by the BUF RT
 * Allen incompletion to the TE
 * Three yard run
 * Tight coverage by Reed on Diggs to force an incompletion

- Finally let's take a look at the last three games Josh Allen has played against
this defense, his numbers are:

63/102 61%  Comp Pct
588         Yards
2           TD
5           INT
1           Fumble
13          Sacks

Offense

- Even though it's painful let's take a quick look at Aaron Rodgers series.  Based upon
the cut blocks of Mekhi Becton and Duane Brown the plays he got hit/injured on should've
been "quick hitters" to receivers.  Cut blocks are done to make defenders get their hands
down so a quick throw can take place.  But on both times he held the ball, was Rodgers so
amped up by the crowd that he wanted to make "sexy" plays?  Unfortunately I doubt anyone
in the local media will ask him that question, maybe Pat McAfee will

- With Rodgers going down nice adjustments by Hackett to get the running game going by
deploying 3 TE sets.  Jeremy Ruckert was devastating caving in the edge of BUF DLine to
free Breece Hall for his 80+ yard run.  In addition Hackett deployed both Breece Hall
and Dalvin Cook in the backfield at the same time

- I'm going to be completely honest, with Zach Wilson back as starter my best hope for this
team is competing for a playoff spot.  Wilson has to improve or someone else (Tim Boyle?)
has to show competency from the position for me to hope for anything more.  Wilson was
14/21 (66% Comp Pct) for 140 yards with a TD and an INT.  The best part of those "middling"
stats was how they broke down:

First Half - he was 5/8 for 40 yards and an INT (3 points)
Second Half - he was 9/13 for 100 yards with a TD (19 points, 13 of which he was responsible)

Hackett made adjustments at halftime (more screens) and Wilson settled down to be more 
efficient.  The plan was not to see Wilson before the 2025 season but here we are.  What will
he do with the opportunity?

- Breece Hall was a beast with 10 carries for 127 yards on the ground and one catch for 20
yards in the passing game.  Can anyone say Adrian Peterson in his prime?

- Dalvin Cook was solid with 13 carries for 33 yards and 3 catches for 26 yards

- Allen Lazard was the "big" receiver on the night with 2 catches for 46 yards

- Garrett Wilson grinded his way to 5 catches for 34 yards with the ridiculous one handed
juggling TD
 

Well said. I would also add only 2 penalties for the game I think. Good discipline all around.

[Facts]

9 minutes ago, OilfieldJet said:

A+ on Special Teams

A on Defense

B on Offense

B on offense? lol!!!!

We ran well because the Bills were begging us to pass and Zach still couldn’t do jack.

[Alka]

45 minutes ago, KRL said:

- I'm going to be completely honest, with Zach Wilson back as starter my best hope for this
team is competing for a playoff spot.  Wilson has to improve or someone else (Tim Boyle?)
has to show competency from the position for me to hope for anything more.

With Zach Wilson as our QB for the rest of the season, I predict an 8-9 record for the Jets.

If the Jets can get a decent game manager as QB, I think no doubt the Jets can win 11 or 12 games this year.   The question is; "Who?"

Next week no matter what the Jets do in the meantime, will be Zach.  It will be interesting to see if he can do anything more than he has done.  With Zach against the Dallas Defense, I predict the Jets will score 9 points.  Maybe the defense can score a couple of touchdowns? In any case, safe to bet on the Cowboys next week.  I could never bet against the Jets, but to me, it's easy money if we got to go with Zach.

[Alka]

15 minutes ago, OilfieldJet said:

A+ on Special Teams

A on Defense

B on Offense

When you say "B" on offense,  do you mean B for Bad?    Because the Jets on offense did not score a B.  

I would give the Jets a D for offense.  And that's only because Zach only threw 1 interception.  He could have gotten an F if he threw more interceptions.

[sciond]

15 minutes ago, Facts said:

B on offense? lol!!!!

We ran well because the Bills were begging us to pass and Zach still couldn’t do jack.

Do you ever have facts?

They were always going to be a run first team

[JohnnyLV]

I just thought it was an incredibly resilient game by a Jets team- most teams just lay down, but in this case they rose to the occasion and got better. It was also an extremely exciting game.

Losing Rodgers is horrible but I have been against trading for a 39 year old QB from the jump. His job now is basically to coach up Zach as much as he can. His career is likely over. Jets get 4 plays from him, but it will be OK if he can coach up Zach.

The Zach haters seem almost upset we won and can't focus on anything other than stumbling over their dicks trying to say how bad he was, He was not good but he has played very little in practice for 2 weeks, the game plan was for Rodgers and there was unreal pressure on the game...biggest Jets game in quite a while and he is just thrown in there. Throws a terrible pick, but then plays pretty well the rest of the way. He made some plays that were pretty clutch and his OL protection was terrible. Buffalo defense was stout, and yet Zach being average is all Zach but Allen (who we OWN now) being awful was all our defense.

Right from the preseason you could just see the potential Gibson has as a returner, He had a very good game in every one and then what he did yesterday was just awesome.  I was super excited for him in preseason and keeping him was gutsy, but instant dividends. He is no Berrios back there.

Paraphrasing "we need to rally around Zach"

They need to let him play. And they need to do something about the OL. I might shuffle it around quite a bit. They were awful.

 

[Bowles Movement]

23 minutes ago, Facts said:

B on offense? lol!!!!

We ran well because the Bills were begging us to pass and Zach still couldn’t do jack.

So the Bills were stacking the box “ begging us to pass”, and that is why we ran well?

This makes zero sense.

[Facts]

3 hours ago, Bowles Movement said:

So the Bills were stacking the box “ begging us to pass”, and that is why we ran well?

This makes zero sense.

No the Bills played 2 LB all game

[Gaffneycatch81]

30 minutes ago, Facts said:

B on offense? lol!!!!

We ran well because the Bills were begging us to pass and Zach still couldn’t do jack.

If the Bills were “begging us to pass” then that would mean they were stacking the line to defend the run. Making it HARDER not easier to run well. Your post makes no sense.

[RevisIsland610]

32 minutes ago, Facts said:

B on offense? lol!!!!

We ran well because the Bills were begging us to pass and Zach still couldn’t do jack.

Running for 175 yards is still offense right? 

[Ruby2]

Nice recap as always.

CJ Mosley looked like the weak link on D to me, anyone else notice this? Totally got stuck in quick sand on Allen's first scramble, shoulda had a pick but dove awkwardly for some reason, missed a tackle late in the game on 3rd down.

Don't mean to be too negative. Rodgers was never lasting the whole season anyway. Zach did enough. The improvement with the short passes, paired with our playmakers and defense might be enough to be a contender. We will see.

[FactsOnly]

Zach Wilson breakout season

[OilfieldJet]

32 minutes ago, Alka said:

When you say "B" on offense,  do you mean B for Bad?    Because the Jets on offense did not score a B.  

I would give the Jets a D for offense.  And that's only because Zach only threw 1 interception.  He could have gotten an F if he threw more interceptions.

170 yards running. TD pass. Decent reception distribution. A win. Yes, a "B".

[Bobby816]

ST was incredible obviously. Punt return to win the game. Great pints and lights out on FGs. Even almost blocked a punt.

 

Defense to me looked shaky for our standard the 1st half. Sauce had an awful game. Was pretty much getting worked by Diggs and Allen. Hopefully that hurt his ego and he bounces back. But the 2nd half defense was way better. Seemed motivated and winning in most phases.

 

Offense wasn’t impressive at all. Which was expected once Wilson went in. Few big plays by Hall was what had us even in the game. We’re going to have to have the best rushing attack in the league if we want to be a playoff team. Wilson only had about 5 good passes all game. We need to feature GW more.

[LIJetsFan]

Now that Hackett is 100% game planning for Zach let's see how that goes before we all commit seppuku.  That includes OL assignments and play calling.   We're not done yet.  IMHO we've still got a chance at the post season.  This team rose to the occasion once.  Let's see 'em do some more.  Go Jets!   

[Guilhermezmc]

19 minutes ago, Bowles Movement said:

So the Bills were stacking the box “ begging us to pass”, and that is why we ran well?

This makes zero sense.

This guy is a troll

[32EBoozer]

1 hour ago, KRL said:

Hackett made adjustments at halftime (more screens) and Wilson settled down to be more 
efficient.  The plan was not to see Wilson before the 2025 season but here we are.  What will
he do with the opportunity?

I am hoping Rodgers will not abandon the team and be Zach's private QB coach moving forward. Strong "Mentor/Student" relationship can help Zach immensly in the film room and on the sidelines.

[rex-n-effect]

 

[heymangold]

Where was Hardman?  I think I saw him on the field once - the last kick return with 6 seconds left in the game.  Need to get him involved - my concern with the WR group seems to be valid.

stop running the ball left - brown and Tomlinson are awful.  Run behind your studs in AVT and Becton, that’s where all their success was last night.

[LIJetsFan]

3 minutes ago, rex-n-effect said:

 

Great post, Thanks  

[Joe W. Namath]

The win did nothing for me last night.  I cannot even analyze who played well, who didnt etc.

What happened last night was soul crushing.  I still am in shock and have not processed it yet.

[Barkus]

Jets can win if Zack plays like he did in the second half. He was put in a very difficult situation and was functional. 2022 Zack would have crapped his pants and been booed off the field with multiple turnovers.

[bitonti]

1 hour ago, KRL said:

 Jeremy Ruckert was devastating caving in the edge of BUF DLine 

he didn't show up in the stat sheet but Long Island's own Jeremy Ruckert was blocking like crazy last night 

[jetstream23]

1 hour ago, KRL said:

- With Rodgers going down nice adjustments by Hackett to get the running game going by
deploying 3 TE sets.  Jeremy Ruckert was devastating caving in the edge of BUF DLine to
free Breece Hall for his 80+ yard run.  In addition Hackett deployed both Breece Hall
and Dalvin Cook in the backfield at the same time

Wilson was
14/21 (66% Comp Pct) for 140 yards with a TD and an INT.  The best part of those "middling"
stats was how they broke down:

First Half - he was 5/8 for 40 yards and an INT (3 points)
Second Half - he was 9/13 for 100 yards with a TD (19 points, 13 of which he was responsible)

Hackett made adjustments at halftime (more screens) and Wilson settled down to be more 
efficient.  The plan was not to see Wilson before the 2025 season but here we are.  What will
he do with the opportunity?

 

I don't give out A+ grades but I'm giving the entire coaching staff an A for last night.  It starts at the top with Saleh.  The same old Jets would have deflated like a Tom Brady football the second Rodgers went down.  The culture and character that the staff (and JD) have been working to build here for 3 years came through loud last night.  Tie game, 3 minutes left on the Buffalo 25 yard line, 4th down.  F**k them, we're going for it. That's our brand of football.

Ulbrich had his unit primed and ready.  Hackett adjusted for Wilson and knew the kind of game the Jets were in so that he made the right play calls throughout.  Brant Boyer's unit was consistently good and unnoticeable (which is a good thing)..... until they did something silly and just went out and won the game for the team.

Sauce Gardner didn't play very well and the Jets beat the Buffalo Bills with Zach Wilson at QB. (pause to digest that sentence) Let that sink in.  I have no clue what the future has in store for this team either this season or in the years that follow, but I really feel like from JD down thru the coaching staff we have the right foundation here.

 

[JoeWillieWhiteShoesHOF]

59 minutes ago, Alka said:

When you say "B" on offense,  do you mean B for Bad?    Because the Jets on offense did not score a B.  

I would give the Jets a D for offense.  And that's only because Zach only threw 1 interception.  He could have gotten an F if he threw more interceptions.

An F?

Wilson played within himself, completed close to 70%, converted on 3rd and long with a bullet of a throw, led a long TD drive, had a bad pick, all against one of the Top D's in the league.

Wilson is Buffalo's QB last night, guess what?  They win.  Jeez, so much Hate for this kid, at least give him C-.

[KRL]

The Rodgers injury puts a pall on yesterday's game.  But to dismiss the fact that
BUF had EVERYTHING going for them last night and the Jets still beat them is
shortsighted

[KRL]

7 minutes ago, JoeWillieWhiteShoesHOF said:

An F?

Wilson played within himself, completed close to 70%, converted on 3rd and long with a bullet of a throw, led a long TD drive, had a bad pick, all against one of the Top D's in the league.

Wilson is Buffalo's QB last night, guess what?  They win.  Jeez, so much Hate for this kid, at least give him C-.

Excellent point!!!  Wilson hasn't earned "love" but Allen is an MVP caliber QB and he was a trainwreck last night

 

[defensedoesntgetyoulaid]

Such a weird game, especially the way it started with Rodgers going down.

The Jets D is just insane. Quick, nasty, fly to the ball, know how good they are. I'm fascinated to see your D and Dallas' D in the same game. That one will be a dog fight.

Allen went to pieces. So strange to see what's happened to him. Ever since the KC game last season where he was brilliant.

Bills fans are going nuts as you would imagine, even worse than Cincy fans on Sunday. Anyway, you can't overreact to week 1 but it's safe to say this isn't a SB calibre team by any stretch. If we lose to Jimmy G the s**t will really start to fly

[peekskill68]

32 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

I don't give out A+ grades but I'm giving the entire coaching staff an A for last night.  It starts at the top with Saleh. 

I thought this was probably Saleh's best game as a HC.  Seeing Rodgers go down so quickly could deflate even the most seasoned team, and Saleh kept the team fighting the whole time.  Also felt like forever since I've seen a Jets game where a stupid roughing penalty or holding penalty didn't extend or stall a drive...

[jetstream23]

1 hour ago, Alka said:

When you say "B" on offense,  do you mean B for Bad?    Because the Jets on offense did not score a B.  

I would give the Jets a D for offense.  And that's only because Zach only threw 1 interception.  He could have gotten an F if he threw more interceptions.

Are we playing the "if" game?  What if he DIDN'T throw that interception?

Wilson did what he was asked to do and, like or not, was the best playing QB on the field last night.  After the shock of the Rodgers injury, the Jets regrouped at halftime and Wilson had 1 TD, 0 INT in the 2nd Half.

 

[Facts]

1 hour ago, RevisIsland610 said:

Running for 175 yards is still offense right? 

Yes.

My point is that it will become nigh impossible to do that once teams start game-planning knowing that we can't pass and run is our only option.

The Bills went into the game thinking we would pass with Rodgers and gameplanned for that.

If the Bills gameplanned for Zach Wilson, very little chance we win yesterday.

[RevisIsland610]

1 minute ago, Facts said:

Yes.

My point is that it will become nigh impossible to do that once teams start game-planning knowing that we can't pass and run is our only option.

The Bills went into the game thinking we would pass with Rodgers and gameplanned for that.

If the Bills gameplanned for Zach Wilson, very little chance we win yesterday.

It didn't stop Breece Hall from running over the league last year before he got injured when ZW was QB. We will also game plan. 

[Facts]

Just now, RevisIsland610 said:

It didn't stop Breece Hall from running over the league last year before he got injured when ZW was QB. We will also game plan. 

I guess we will see.