The New York Jets were looking to build off their strong performance in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week in a key division matchup against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2.
However, the Jets (0-2) were embarrassed by quarterback Josh Allen and Buffalo (2-0) to the tune of a 30-10 loss at MetLife Stadium.
New York was once again treated to poor tackling and terrible penalties that made you think that Robert Saleh was coaching the team. The Jets looked defeated early in the first quarter when a bad penalty from a familiar culprit led to a Bills touchdown.
It all went downhill from there and the Jets never recovered.
Here is Jets Wire’s final report card for Sunday’s abysmal 30-10 loss to the Bills:
Passing Offense—F
Last week, we saw how great QB Justin Fields could be and this week, we saw how awful he can be. He was off from the very beginning. He sailed a pass over Garrett Wilson’s head on the opening drive and never got into any type of rhythm the entire game. Fields finished with only three completions for 27 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion.
Backup Tyrod Taylor entered the game for Fields and threw a meaningless touchdown to Jeremy Ruckert. The Jets completed only 10 passes to eight different receivers. It’s too early to be concerned about Fields, but it was a massive disappointment for the young quarterback after his impressive performance against Pittsburgh.
Rushing Offense—F
The Jets should have been chomping at the bit to get after Buffalo’s defensive line, especially since they were playing without Ed Oliver, who was ruled out with an ankle injury. Not to mention the Bills defense gave up over 200 yards rushing last week to the Baltimore Ravens and the Jets ran for close to 200 yards against the Steelers in Week 1.
But, the Jets couldn’t get anything going on the ground against Buffalo’s makeshift line and as a result, the offense sputtered for the entire game. Fields was the leading rusher with 49 yards while Breece Hall finished with only 29 yards on 10 carries. It’s borderline criminal that Braelon Allen hasn’t received many carries in two games as his physical style may have helped light a spark to the ground game. Allen finished with two carries for 11 yards and has only six carries for 20 yards in two games this season.
If this offense is going to work, Tanner Engstrand needs to get creative and find ways to work Allen and Hall into the gameplan together.
Rushing Defense—C-
It’s difficult to grade the defense because the offense was beyond awful. With that being said, they couldn’t stop James Cook all afternoon. They allowed Josh Allen to break free for a 40 yard run that set up Buffalo’s first touchdown and the tackling on Cook’s 44 yard touchdown run in the second quarter was a disaster.
The Bills ran for 224 yards against the defense, which is a disgrace. Cook finished with 132 yards while Allen added 59 yards of his own. The Jets defense were gassed early in this game and it’s fair to wonder if the offense had been better, would Buffalo been that dominant on the ground?
Passing Defense—C
Allen wasn’t great throwing the ball today, only completing 14 passes, but he didn’t need to do much either since the Bills running game decimated the Jets defense. It’s hard to criticize Sauce Gardner on anything, but he should know better not to try and tackle Allen up high on a potential sack. Of course, he missed and Allen gained big yards.
There are three guarantees in life now. Death, Taxes and Micheal Clemons getting flagged for a personal foul. His roughing the passer penalty was backbreaking as it forced the defense to stay on the field after they made a stop on third down. Glenn was livid and was seen chewing him out on the sideline.
Glenn has been preaching accountability and after he released Xavier Gipson for a critical fumble last week, it might be time for Glenn to say goodbye to Clemons, who’s done very little in four seasons with the team and still makes the same brain dead mistakes almost every week.
Special Teams—C
Nick Folk made a field goal. The return game was fine for what it was. Nothing more to see here.
Coaching—D
Fans should be frustrated with this complete no-show by the Jets after such a strong debut last week. It’s getting tiresome watching this team commit bad penalties on a weekly basis. The Jets were undisciplined, had no offensive game plan and looked badly unprepared. They didn’t play hard and it looked like they quit, which fans saw far too much during the Robert Saleh days.
Glenn’s words simply didn’t get through and the Jets took a bad punch to the gut from a Bills team that normally doesn’t play well at MetLife Stadium and who was missing their best defensive lineman in Ed Oliver. It’s odd that the tight ends don’t have a bigger role in the passing game as Mason Taylor and Jeremy Ruckert combined for only two catches and 10 yards.
Glenn and Engstrand need to do a better job making adjustments when things hit a wall on offense or defense. They got knocked down early and never recovered. The good news is there is plenty of games to be played. How they bounce back from this embarrassment next week in Tampa will say a lot about this team and the coaching staff moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Report card: New York Jets humiliated by Buffalo Bills in 30-10 loss
Reporting by Craig Moffett, Jets Wire / Jets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
