aren't going to win too many more games if they keep allowing opponents to start drives at
midfield ??or beyond."That wasn't part of the game plan
Zay Jones Jerseys 2019 , for them to start at the 48," McDermott said, sarcastically.Three turnovers by rookie quarterback Josh Allen, coupled with a
series of special teams coverage breakdowns led to the Bills squandering a 14-3
lead in a 27-23 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday.Though the Jets took their
first and only lead on Elijah McGuire's touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1
with 1:17 remaining, McDermott said the trouble began much earlier when the
Bills kept providing New York opportunities.Allen's first two turnovers on a
lost fumble and an interception committed inside Bills territory, not only ended
Buffalo scoring opportunities, but led to a Jets field goal.And then there were
Buffalo's special teams meltdowns, which led to Andre Roberts finishing with 176
yards on five kickoff returns."There's a recipe to winning in this league and it
starts by taking care of the football, giving yourself a chance with good field
position," McDermott said. "We were shooting ourselves in the foot. That's
really the story of the game right there."Buffalo dropped to 4-9 and will finish
with a losing record for just the second time in five seasons, and a year after
making the playoffs to end a 17-year postseason drought. Expectations were lower
for the Bills this season, given the commitment they made to rebuilding through
youth last offseason.The lack of experience has shown for a team starting five
first- or second-year players on offense, and four more on defense.Each time the
Bills appeared to gain momentum, they handed it back to the Jets.After Isaiah
McKenzie scored on a 15-yard run to put Buffalo up 14-3, Roberts followed with a
51-yard kickoff return, which led to Jason Myers hitting a 21-yard field
goal.After Buffalo's Stephen Hauschka hit a 31-yard field goal to regain the
14-point edge, Roberts burst up the right sideline for an 86-yard return, which
set up Trenton Cannon's 4-yard touchdown.And after Hauschka hit a 36-yard field
goal with 2:31 left to put Buffalo up 23-20, Roberts not only returned the next
kickoff 22 yards to New York's 34, but the Jets picked up another 5 yards due to
an illegal formation penalty called against Buffalo.Rookie quarterback Sam
Darnold then proceeded to march the Jets on a nine-play, 61-yard drive to win
it, including a perfectly placed 37-yard pass to Robby Anderson, who made an
over-the-shoulder catch up the right sideline.Members of the Bills' defense
blamed themselves for allowing the Jets to score.And yet, Buffalo limited New
York to 248 yards offense and 15 first downs. The difference was the Jets having
eight drives start at their 35 or better, including five inside Buffalo
territory.Allen blamed himself."I've got to be smarter with the football," said
Allen, who now has nine interceptions and two lost fumbles, versus five
touchdowns passing and five rushing.Allen's first interception came when he was
scrambling to his right and
White Dion Dawkins Jerseys , rather than throwing the ball away, floated a pass back toward the field and was easily intercepted by Trumaine Johnson.
Allen's second interception came on Buffalo's final drive, when he tried to
force a pass to Zay Jones, only to have it picked off by Johnson."Yeah, he's got
to learn from those," McDermott said. "At times, he's tried to do too much.
That's tough living there." The Buffalo Bills narrowly put away the Tennessee
Titans, 13-12, on the back of an outstanding performance from their their
defense. The Bills kept the Titans behind schedule and controlled the line of
scrimmage with a run-obsessed gameplan, finishing with a game-winning field goal
by Stephen Hauschka as the game expired.The Buffalo defense suffocated the
Titans for most of the day. They had three turnovers, kept Tennessee out of the
end zone, and limited the Titans to 221 yards of total offense. Marcus Mariota
was 14-of-26 for 129 yards (5.0 yards per attempt) and an interception. The
Titans runners combined for 100 yards on 25 carries. Kyle Williams and Jerry
Hughes each had a sack. Hughes would’ve had two, but he shoved Mariota to try
and avoid a roughing the passer penalty, which backfired when Mariota didn’t
lose his balance.The Bills treated Josh Allen with kid gloves in this game,
running at more than a 2:1 ratio compared to his passes. It was a good idea too,
considering Tennessee’s stout defense. The Bills really struggled to break big
plays, with their longest result of the day a 16 yard run from LeSean McCoy.
Allen scored a rushing touchdowns and generally made smart decisions most of the
day, but rarely attempted to attack the Titans defense. He threw for fewer than
five yards per attempt, and though it wasn’t his fault, Allen had an
interception bounce off Andre Holmes into the hands of a defender. The big plays
weren’t available, but that was enough for today’s win.The other side of
Buffalo’s treatment was their stronger commitment to LeSean McCoy and the
running game. McCoy had more rushing attempts in this game than he had in the
rest of the season to this point. the Titans defense mostly contained him, but
he still produced more than 100 all-purpose yards. The Bills finished with an
unsexy 43 carries for 144 yards and a Josh Allen touchdown.At 2-3, the Bills
climbed out of the AFC’s basement, and preserved Sean McDermott’s winning record
for at least two more weeks (the head coach is now 11-10 with the Buffalo
Bills).NotesNew waiver addition Jordan Phillips had a good day, in on two
tackles for loss.Rookie Taron Johnson netted his first career
interception.Rookie Tremaine Edmunds had his second career forced fumble. Shaq
Lawson and Jerry Hughes also forced fumbles on the day, and the Bills recovered
two of those three.Corey Bojorquez appeared to injure his upper arm, but it
didn’t impact his punting. He downed his next kick within the five yard
line.Ray-Ray McCloud all but iced the game on his second career catch with a
bubble screen for a first down at the end of the fourth quarter.This was the
first game-winning drive of Josh Allen’s career.Bojorquez was the only notable
injury to come out of this game in real time.
