Bills Lose Home Opener On Thursday Night Football
By Pete Macias
The Bills are in serious trouble after an 0-2 start
Week 2 of NFL season begins with the Jets taking on the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field. This was also the first NFL game to be streamed live on Twitter. The story leading up to this game was the health of WR Sammy Watkins. Watkins has been battling a nagging foot injury dating back to last year, but he was able to make the start.
The first quarter got out to a bit of a wild start. The Bills defense was making plays, causing fumbles and getting a sack. Yet, they gave up three straight 3rd downs. The Jets held the ball for half of the quarter and drove down for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. When the Bills got the ball, Tyrod Taylor hit Marquise Goodwin on an 84-yard pass for a touchdown to go up 7-3. Goodwin showed off his Olympic caliber speed as he blew by Darrell Revis on the play.
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The second quarter started with the Bills ahead 7-6. After giving up two big pass plays to Brandon Marshall, Marshall went down with a knee injury. A couple plays later the Jets scored a rushing TD to take a 13-7 lead. On the next Bills possession, they had a number of penalties and at one point were at 3rd and 30. With the Bills defense already short-handed, they looked tired and confused as they spent a lot of time on the field in the first half. Jets scored on four straight possessions to go up 20-7 with 3:53 left in the 2nd quarter. The Bills ended the second quarter with a field goal and went into halftime trailing 20-10.
The Bills opened the second half with a 74-yard pass on 3rd down to Greg Salas. With that score, the Bills closed the lead to 20-17. The Bills defense caused a fumble that was returned by Nickell Robey-Coleman for a touchdown to take a 24-20 lead. Later in the quarter, Matt Forte scored his second TD to give the Jets a 27-24 lead. Tyrod Taylor took a hard hit to the head by multiple defenders with about a 1:27 left in the 3rd quarter. EJ Manuel came in for the final two plays of the quarter.
The Bills began the 4th quarter with an interception by Taylor on a deep pass to Watkins. The Jets then marched right down the field picking up big chunks of yardage through the air. They ended the drive with a field goal to go up 30-24. On the next possession, the Bills went for it on 4th down and missed it, turning the ball over. With 3 minutes left in the game, RB Matt Forte scored his third rushing TD of the game to give the Jets a 37-20 lead. With 1:17 left in the game. Taylor hit RB Mike Gillislee for a TD to make the score 37-31. Buffalo tried an onside kick but the Jets recovered. The Bills got the ball back with 10 seconds left but could not do anything. It’s amazing the Bills could score 31 points without McCoy or Watkins being much of a factor.
With Buffalo now at 0-2, this team is in trouble. With their next two games coming up against the Cardinals and Patriots, they could be sitting at 0-4. Rex Ryan needs to work his magic or he will be on the hot seat by the middle of the season.
Can the Bills turn this season around? What do you think Bills fans?