The Buffalo Bills had a chance to extend their win streak to five games this season if they would be able to come away with a win against the New York Jets. However, this is a Jets team that has played well this season and entered the game with a 5-3 record.
The Bills unfortunately came up short as the offense struggled to move the ball against this defense and Buffalo would see their win streak end after a 20-17 loss. These are the grades for each position group from Week 9 for the Buffalo Bills.
Week 9 grades for the Buffalo Bills against the New York Jets
Quarterback
The Buffalo Bills offense collectively struggled and a lot of that will fall on Josh Allen. For the second straight week, Allen had two interceptions and one of those interceptions came in the red zone. While it didn’t hurt them last week against the Packers, the fact they had a trip to the red zone and didn’t come away with any points against the New York Jets had a big impact on the outcome today.
In addition to questionable throws, Josh Allen wasn’t as accurate as he has been in previously games. He finished the game completing just over 50% of his passes and had a number of errant passes that probably had a good chance of being turnovers but fortunately, the Jets didn’t capitalize.
It wasn’t all bad as Josh Allen made an impact on the ground with 86 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. However, since his break out season back in 2020, there is a strong case to be made that this was his worst game over that stretch.
Grade: C-
Running Back
While Josh Allen found room on the ground, the Buffalo Bills running backs didn’t have the same success. Devin Singletary and James Cook combined for only 39 rushing yards on 12 carries and neither had a run go for more than six yards.
They did make an impact through the air though and Josh Allen leaned pretty heavily on these two as they combined for six receptions for 42 receiving yards on nine targets. Devin Singletary in particular had an impressive catch where he was able to tip a pass from Josh Allen to himself and bring it in before the Jets’ defender.
The Buffalo Bills weren’t able to get new addition Nyheim Hines involved much this week and this was probably due to it being a short week and he was not able to get up to speed. He did have one deep target from Allen but he was overthrown. I expect him to be a bigger factor moving forward.
Grade: C
Wide Receivers
It looked like the Buffalo Bills wide receivers were going to have success against these Jets’ corners as Stefon Diggs had a reception go over 40 yards on the first play of the game. However, that would be the best play from this group as the Bills didn’t have another receiver catch a pass longer than 20 yards.
Diggs finished the game with five receptions for 93 yards and made a great catch on their final drive that would be called back due to offensive holding. Isaiah McKenzie also made a few good plays but had only two receptions for 12 yards and one run for nine yards.
However, this grade is pulled down due to another lackluster performance from Gabe Davis who had only two receptions for 33 yards on five targets. He made a number of big drops, including on the Bills’ final play of the game where Josh Allen hit him in stride but failed to bring it in.
If the Buffalo Bills offense is going to remain successful, they are going to need another wide receiver to step up to help Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs.
Grade: C-
Tight End
Among all the pass catchers on this offense, Dawson Knox was one of the most successful and probably should have been involved more. He finished the game with only four targets but caught three of them and had 35 receiving yards.
Grade: B-
Offensive Line
The New York Jets have a good defensive line but the Buffalo Bills offensive line has played well this year and should have matched up well against this group. However, that was not the case today as Josh Allen was consistently getting pressured and he was sacked five times and hit eight times.
One play in particular that stands out was on the final drive where Josh Allen connected with Stefon Diggs for a first down along the sideline. However, the play was called back due to holding by Dion Dawkins which essentially ended their drive and never gave Buffalo much of a chance to tie the game up.
The Jets defensive line clearly won the day and this offensive line will need to be much better moving forward if the offense hopes to get back on track.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
Meanwhile, the Bills defensive line seemed to do a good job in the first half controlling the trenches and limiting what the Jets’ offense could do. However, it was a completely different story in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter.
For the second straight week, the opposing team has found success on the ground as the game has gone along as the Jets finished the game with 174 rushing yards. This has to be addressed sooner rather than later as the Bills are set to play Dalvin Cook and the Vikings next Sunday.
As for the pass rush, there once again were some positives but the defense needed a little more when pressuring Zach Wilson. Von Miller made a big play on the Jets’ first drive of the second half where he would force a fumble on his sack but the Bills failed to capitalize with Josh Allen throwing an interception on the ensuing drive.
Grade: C
Linebackers
The Buffalo Bills were without starting linebacker Matt Milano as he is dealing with an oblique injury and his absence was notable this week. The team looked to rookie Terrel Bernard and while he did finish with seven total tackles but he also had a number of missed tackles.
As for Tremaine Edmunds, he was once again productive with 11 total tackles and probably should have been credited with an interception on the Jets’ opening drive of the second half. He continues to play at a high level but he needs Milano out there for this defense to truly be dominant.
Grade: C+
Secondary
The Buffalo Bills once again were missing Jordan Poyer, who has now missed his third game of the season and unfortunately didn’t get Tre’Davious White back this week. However, even without those two, this group did a pretty good job as Zach Wilson had only 154 passing yards.
Those numbers would be even lower if the Buffalo Bills had an answer for Garrett Wilson as he caught eight of nine targets for 93 yards.
Among this group, the one player that stood out was Damar Hamlin who led the team in tackles with 12 and made a huge sack on the Jets’ final drive that forced them to settle for a field goal.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
Two years ago, Tyler Bass had a game he will probably remember his entire career with six made field goals and accounted for every point of the Buffalo Bills in a game against the New York Jets.
However, he didn’t have the same success today and he will want to forget this game. He made only one of two field goal attempts but the one he did make was critical as it tied the game up. Although on the very next play, he kicked the ball out of bounds on a kickoff and gave New York great field position.
Grade: C-
Final Grade
The Buffalo Bills once again found themselves on the losing end of a divisional matchup. Similar to the game against the Miami Dolphins, it would be easy to blame the fact the team dealing with injuries to key players before the game and then saw a number of players leave during the course of the game.
However, there are some concerning trends that have been developing since the bye week as Josh Allen now has four interceptions in the past two games and the defense is allowing opposing teams to rack up huge yardage totals on the ground.
The Buffalo Bills have some work to do and will need to find some answers before they play the surprising 7-1 Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Grade: D
5 takeaways from the Buffalo Bills loss against the NY Jets in Week 9
The Buffalo Bills came up short against the New York Jets and these are four key takeaways from their Week 9 20-17 loss in MetLife Stadium.