East Rutherford, N.J. (WGR 550/WBEN) - The Buffalo Bills opened their 2023 regular season on Monday with a crushing overtime loss to the New York Jets, 22-16, at MetLife Stadium.
Here are my Arrows Up and Arrows Down from the game, starting with Down after the loss:
ARROW DOWN:
QB - Josh Allen
Simply put, Allen made terrible decisions and kept giving away drive-after-drive.
Allen threw three interceptions, all to safety Jordan Whitehead, and all thrown into, what amounted to, double coverage with no reason at all to throw the first two. He even could have had a long run on one of them, but decided to sail the ball downfield instead.
In addition, Allen fumbled the ball away in a tied game late in the fourth quarter.
Allen finished the contest going 29-of-41 (70.7%) for 236 yards, the three picks, the lost fumble, and a touchdown.
OT - Spencer Brown
Brown was getting beaten way too regularly, often by John Franklin-Myers. It made for Allen to have to hurry or bail on too many drop-backs.
Pass protection
It wasn’t just Brown. The pass protection throughout the night was not good.
Allen was sacked five times, and the Jets were credited with nine quarterback hurries.
Punt return allowed
The Bills lost in overtime on a 65-yard punt return. Everything on that punt went poorly.
The snap was a tad low. Punter Sam Martin picked it up and hurried it in the wrong direction, based on his what coverage unit was doing. It was a short punt, and had very little hang time. Then the tackling was bad all the way down the field.
Game over.
Not stopping Breece Hall/run defense
Hall’s first touch of the game was a 26-yard run. His next touch was an 83-yard run from the Jets' own four-yard line.
The second-year running back finished Monday's game with 127 yards on 10 carries.
Overall, the Bills defense gave up 172 yards on the ground and 6.1 yards a run.
Blowing the lead
The Bills were up 10 points midway through the third quarter facing a Zach Wilson-led offense. There’s no excuse for not putting New York away.
LB - Terrel Bernard
Bernard made his share of nice plays, but also got swallowed up on blocks too many times.
Damien Harris not getting first down
Harris had only one carry for three yards, but had two catches for 16 yards.
One of those catches came on a 3rd-and-15, where he looked like he could have turned directly upfield to gain the first down. Instead, Harris ran on an angle, allowing the defender to tackle him before he got to the sticks, leading to a field goal attempt instead.
First down offense
The Bills were not good on first down, creating too many 2nd-and-long situations, which too often lead to third down.
Third down offense
The Bills were only 5-for-13 on third down (38.5%).
Defending screen passes
The Jets' big plays came mostly from either Hall runs or screen passes. They used the Bills' up-field aggressiveness against them and made big plays.
Lack of wide receiver usage
Allen having to throw the ball quickly obviously played a factor, but outside of Diggs, Bills wideouts accounted for only five catches and came from only two players: Gabe Davis (2) and Deonte Harty (3).
ARROW UP:
Job on Garrett Wilson
Wilson had only five catches for just 34 yards. The secondary did a nice job on him overall, despite making a spectacular catch for a late game-tying touchdown.
DE - Leonard Floyd
Floyd made an immediate impact on his new team, collecting 1.5 sacks, three total tackles and a pair of quarterback hurries.
LB - Matt Milano
Milano had the only turnover for the Bills, intercepting Wilson in the second quarter. He also had eight total tackles, including one for a loss, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry.
WR - Stefon Diggs
Diggs was terrific, catching 10 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. Quite a few of his receptions were when Sauce Gardner was covering him man-to-man.
K - Tyler Bass
Bass boomed a 50-yard field goal high off the left upright that then fell over the crossbar to tie the game at the end of regulation and send it to overtime.
He also connected on his two other attempts and his lone extra point.
Third down defense
Just like the Bills, the Jets were just 5-for-13 on third down (38.5%).
Red zone defense
The Jets were inside the Bills' 20-yard line three times, but only scored one touchdown.
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