Buffalo N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - While it may not have been entirely pretty, the Buffalo Bills bounced back from a two-game losing skid on Monday night with a 23-20 win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The Bills got off to a hot start early with a nine-play, 70-yard drive capped off by a Josh Allen one-yard touchdown run. However, it was rookie running back Ray Davis helping to set the tone for the evening on the drive with a nice few runs.
Over the course of the first half, the Bills were able to put together a pair of drives of 80-plus yards to put the team in position to go to halftime with a 10-point lead. However, the Jets were able to change the complexity of the game heading into halftime with quarterback Aaron Rodgers tossing a Hail Mary that was caught by wide receiver Allen Lazard to make it a 20-17 contest.
The second half was nothing like the first half for the Bills.
Buffalo was only able to muster three points in the second half, but it was enough to get the win in the end. That's because the Bills defense was able to bend, but not break against Rodgers and the Jets offense.
With time running out in the fourth quarter and the Jets looking to, at least, tie the game at 23-23, Bills nickel cornerback Taron Johnson came up with a huge interception to put Buffalo in a situation to burn out the rest of the clock and seal the victory.
After a couple of rough outings in the back-to-back losses, Allen was able to regroup with 215 yards on 19-of-25 passing and three total touchdowns.
As for Davis, the rookie running back accounted for 152 yards from scrimmage, which is the most by any rookie in the NFL this season.
With the win, Buffalo improves its record to 4-2, but more importantly, now take a commanding lead in the AFC East and hold the head-to-head tie-breaker with both the Jets and Miami Dolphins.
Related
After three games away from the friendly confines of Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, the Bills finally get a chance to return home and await a matchup with the Tennessee Titans this Sunday afternoon.
This matchup will be the first time the Bills will face second-year quarterback Will Levis, who has had a bit of a roller coaster year with 699 passing yards and completing 66.4% of his passing attempts, but has thrown a league-high seven interceptions to five touchdowns.
The Titans are coming off a tough 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday, which drops Tennessee to a meager 1-4 overall in the standings.
Ahead of Sunday's game in Orchard Park, the Bills made a big splash on the trade market with the acquisition of five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns. Buffalo ended up giving Cleveland a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick, while Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round pick are part of the package heading to the Bills.
Related
The win on Monday night, combined with the acquisition of Cooper, has certainly boosted Howard Simon's spirits.
All year long, Howard has had the Bills coming out with a win over the Titans in Week 7, and nothing that Tennessee has done this season is deterring him from changing his pick heading into Sunday.
From there, Howard was back on the chipper side with his picks, having the Bills beating the likes of the Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams the rest of the way. Not to mention, Howard still believes the Bills will sweep the AFC East and go a perfect 6-0.
Despite losses to the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions on the schedule, Howard has the Bills finishing with a 12-5 record and, all but likely, winning a fifth-straight division title.
Be sure to follow along on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on X: @BraytonJWilson.
You can listen to, as well as watch the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" below:
