Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets: Defense stands out in Week 18 report card

Special Teams

The big play of the game was a blocked punt by Cam Lewis at the end of the first quarter. It was the first blocked punt by the Bills since 2016. As for Tyler Bass, he was automatic once again making both field goal attempts and all three extra point attempts.

However, the biggest discussion coming out of this game around special teams is going to be the play of Matt Haack. After not punting for two straight games, the Bills needed Haack to punt seven times and he certainly struggled with an average of only 33.9 yards per punt. The performance of Haack brings the grade down this week.

Grade: C-

Buffalo Bills Team Grade for Week 18

It wasn’t really pretty for the Buffalo Bills in the second and third quarters. They started the game off great by building a ten-point lead and having the blocked punt in the first quarter. It looked like they were well on their way to an easy victory and one that would clinch the AFC East.

However, the offense would struggle in those middle quarters, and combined with Haack’s struggles punting the ball, the Jets found themselves typically in good field position and close to scoring range.

It was the defense though that didn’t give up anything to this offense and played excellent football that helped hold Buffalo’s lead until the fourth quarter when the offense got going again. There will be plenty to clean up this week but the Buffalo Bills got the job done, which was seemingly easier said than done in the final regular season game based on other games this week.

Grade: B+