Two of the three teams paid to perform at Highmark Stadium Sunday were horrible.
The Bills were very good. More on them later.
The New York Jets were abysmal, as evidenced by their 40-14 defeat.
Author Dan Jenkins called them the “dog-ass” Jets in his book “Semi-Tough” 50 years ago. Half a century later, they still play like the underside of the neighborhood pooch.
I remember the season finale in 1989 when the Bills brought a three-game losing streak to New Jersey to face the Jets. “New York’s Finest” dog-assed their way to a 37-0 loss that day to put the Bills in the playoffs.
Sunday’s game was similar. The Jets were down 40-0 thanks to four Bills touchdowns in a seven-and-a-half minute span in the third and fourth quarters that put the game away. It took backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor to produce two touchdowns to get the Jets on the board.
Superstar QB Aaron Rodgers was horrible. He was sacked four times, threw two interception and generally played disinterested in three quarters. At age 41, he is a failure that the Jets should discard the day after the season ends. They won’t.
They’ll sign a few big-name players, surround Rodgers with more high-priced talent, and try to patch together a contender made up of Woody Johnson’s teenage son’s latest “Madden” exploits. Good luck with that.
The second terrible team on the field was referee Clete Blakeman’s officiating crew.
They enforced 23 penalties, 16 against the Jets. It was almost enough to make a one-sided game unwatchable.
Here’s a little advice for Blakeman’s crew: if it’s a close call or you’re not sure but it looked like a penalty, don’t call it. Most fans would rather see the game move on with little interruption.
Which leaves the third team on the field: the Buffalo Bills, who cruised to their 13th win.
The defense deserves some credit for a well-played third and fourth quarters, which is all it took. Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, A.J. Epenesa, Matt Milano and others shut down Rodgers and the Jets attack.
Josh Allen had two sensational TD throws: one a 30-yard torch that Amari Cooper snatched out of the air somehow, and then five minutes later a cross-field 14-yard pass that Keon Coleman went up high and brought down—amazing catches, yes, but spectacular throws under pressure.
Anyone still agonizing over their MVP vote needs to watch those five minutes of the third quarter.
In all, a spectacular Bills performance against an underwhelming and disinterested opponent.
Now for a bonus preseason game in January. Sean McDermott sounds like a man who will rest his starters.
“It gives us options and I think that’s the key,” he said afterward. “We’ve got some guys who are hurting a little bit now and might need some rest. ... We’ll try to make the best decision overall as an organization for everyone involved here.”
That includes Josh Allen, who should give his left hand a chance to recover and not worry about his streak of consecutive starts at QB. The Chiefs, Ravens, Bengals and other playoff opponents don’t care.
John Murphy, the longtime Voice of the Bills, is writing columns for WIVB.com this season. Find more of his work here.
