But, once again, the Jets were their own worst enemy as they struggled inside the red zone.
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NY (1-1) bounced back from a last-minute loss in the opener at Cincinnati on Sunday. They have a great group of receivers with Decker and Brandon Marshall obviously, but the other guys, I thought 81 played his butt off against us 11, 89 everybody showed up.
“I don’t know if I’m worthy or lucky enough for all this”, Smith told reporters before the game. “It was a must-win”. Matt Forte had a one-yard plunge to give the Jets a 13-7 lead, and then Ryan Fitzpatrick found Eric Decker on a five-yard strike to give the Jets a 20-7 lead.
After punts by both teams, the Jets put together a lengthy drive which resulted in the second of three Forte touchdowns.
Marshall avoided a scare when he briefly left the game in the second quarter with what appeared to be a serious left knee injury. Brandon Marshall followed with six receptions for 101 yards, and Quincy Enunwa had six receptions for 92 yards before leaving the game. The Ryan-coached team has won nine of the 14 match-ups between the two teams in the last six seasons.
In beating one of his former teams, Fitzpatrick also overcame the stinging memories of last year’s season finale, a 22-17 loss at Buffalo that eliminated the Jets from playoff contention.
They all love playing with him. All points made by Bowles.
The New York Jets are looking for their first win of the season. Buffalo is relying on QB Tyrod Taylor and head coach Rex Ryan.
“We got an identity now”, Forte said. I mean, maybe for my dad.
NY responded by scoring the next 17 points.
On 4th-and-1 Manuel feigned a snap, couldn’t get the Jets to jump offsides, then called a timeout Buffalo would desperately need at the end. Ryan said he wasn’t concerned about the offense.
The turnover revived memories of how so numerous Fitzpatrick meltdowns have occurred against Ryan’s defenses. Watching the offense run plays in the first half, you would think they were up more than a few scores and try to kill the clock.
NY kicker Nick Folk’s third field goal of the game, from 36 yards out, made it 30-24 with 10:40 remaining.
With 210 receiving yards in the first half and 5 plays of 20+ yards, Buffalo had all they could handle of the Jets passing attack. When he’s off, you get a 19-for-35, 189-yard, two touchdowns and one interception game like last week.
Dan Carpenter’s 38-yard field goal cut the Jets’ lead to 20-10 just before halftime. New York’s first six weeks of 2016 are absolutely brutal.
A lopsided first half featured two touchdowns and two field goals for the Jets.
Marshall down, but returns: Marshall, the Jets’ top receiver, went down with an injury to his left knee early the second quarter. LT Cordy Glenn (ankle) sat for the Bills.
Wide receiver Sammy Watkins is active for the Bills.
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The Bills honored National Football League career sacks leader and Hall of Famer Bruce Smith by retiring his No. 78 during a halftime ceremony.
