Television cameras captured Ryan yelling exuberant expletives and pumping his fist so hard that his hat fell off. The PAT cut the Bills lead to 22-10, so Bowles & Co. needed to get into the end zone twice to erase the deficit.
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“Every guy in this room has been dumped by a girl. That’s really what it feels like, and you know…”
“Hey, you move on and every now and then they call you back, ” he added.
The Jets ran a chaotic play on fourth down, when tight end Kellen Davis couldn’t even turn around in the end zone before quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s pass sailed over his head.
Can the Jets make the playoffs with their current level of play on defense? Instead, the Bills trusted the young Sammy Watkins to beat one of the best cornerbacks in the game and to secure the first down. The Bills hadn’t logged a first down since 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter – or 22 ½ consecutive minutes. The first-year coach repeatedly has been questioned about his in-game management, and Thursday night’s loss to the Bills was just the latest head-scratcher.
“When they had the ball near our goal line after we messed up on the punt, our defense talked and decided, ‘Let’s stand up!”‘ said Bills linebacker Nigel Brandham.
Bowles seems to be putting a little of the blame on Marshall and a little on Fitzpatrick.
Off the field, his annual boisterous Super Bowl predictions put the Jets in the headlines and created an excitement about a franchise that’s had more than its fair share of bad seasons. Fitzpatrick hinted at such a decision this week before he and Bowles confirmed it following Thursday’s loss. But the Jets might have won the game if not for WR Devin Smith’s second-quarter fumble of a kickoff, which was returned 19 yards for a touchdown by S Duke Williams. In both games, Fitzpatrick was a combined 36/68 for 465 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. The Jets running back has been a solid role player for the team this season, and had rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown before the injury. Moral of the story: Teams that want to establish the run against the Jets can do so.
The Jets have been able to beat the teams, for the most part, that they should, like the Redskins, Jaguars and Browns. It was the first game action of any kind for Milliner since October 12, 2014, when he sustained a torn Achilles tendon.
The Jets, however, already had two touchdown drives of 80 and 69 yards in the second half. As has been the case most of the season, Buffalo kept Taylor under 30 passing attempts while still creating explosive plays down the field in minimal tries. Among the Jets’ inactives were CB Antonio Cromartie (thigh bruise), S Dion Bailey (ankle) and S Calvin Pryor (ankle). He wanted to win this game to prove a point to the Jets’ front office. He was re-signed to the practice squad two days later. RG Willie Colon was placed on season-ending injured reserve earlier in the week because his right knee had chronic swelling. They might have to accomplish that task without the services of starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, however, as he was limited in practice Thursday due to a foot injury that he suffered in the team’s Week 9 win over the Oakland Raiders. Still, the hope was that the Bills could re-establish themselves along the lines of last year’s dynamic, fourth-ranked unit, given that the group was healthier and fresh off total beatdown of the Miami Dolphins. The Jets play failed.
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As Williams continues to find pay dirt, he continues to become the “first since” games-with-a-touchdown department.
