Orchard Park, NY – The Buffalo Bills posted a perfect record at home by defeating the New York Jets 40-14 on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.

The Bills also secured second place and improved to 13-3 on the season.

Buffalo’s defense forced three turnovers. The Bills scored five touchdowns and defeated their AFC East rival. A win next week against the New England Patriots would give the Bills a perfect 6-0 record against their division this season.

The Jets scored two touchdowns in garbage time when former Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor replaced Aaron Rodgers and the game was out of reach.

Here are a few takeaways from the Bills’ win over the Jets.

Is AJ Epenesa showing signs of a breakthrough?

One of the problems for the underperforming Bills defense over the last month has been their inability to generate a consistent pass rush with just four players.

Fifth-year defensive lineman AJ Epenesa remained quiet in the second half of the season. In his last 10 games, Epenesa has felt pressure more than once. His last sack was in Week 10 against the Indianapolis Colts.

The playoffs begin in two weeks and Epenesa is one of many Bills prospects who will need to step up if Buffalo wants to push for the Super Bowl.

Epenesa started a potential push against the Jets with a bang, collecting a sack for a safety late in the second quarter. Epenesa added a tackle for loss in one of his best performances of the season.

The Jets’ offensive line entered the game completely bonkers, and things got worse when right tackle Morgan Moses left with a knee injury.

The Bills’ defensive line dominated from left to right and all of their major pass rushers recorded a sack. Von Miller and Ed Oliver had a sack, and Greg Rousseau and DaQuan Jones shared one.

Jordan Phillips had his second career interception on a pass tipped by Rousseau.

Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed just 12 of 18 passes for 112 yards and two interceptions.

Josh Allen adds 3 TDs to make the (probably) final MVP case

Last year, Allen became the first player in NFL history to score 40 or more touchdowns in four consecutive seasons. He contributed to this tremendous accomplishment by scoring over 40 touchdowns for the fifth straight season.

Allen’s most impressive achievement this season may be his remarkable improvement in ball security. He turned the ball over 22 times last season and will only do so eight times in 2024.

When the Bills traded Stefon Diggs in March, the national narrative became an attack on the Bills’ roster. Many wondered if Allen had enough weapons to stay atop the AFC East, let alone compete in a stacked AFC for a chance at a Super Bowl appearance.

Allen answered the critics with his most dominant season, despite a collection of arms that lacked a household name.

Allen completed passes to eight different receivers on Sunday. Allen had a chance to add a touchdown late in the third quarter, handing the ball off to running back James Cook to give the third-string team its 15th touchdown of the season.

The two biggest plays in the passing game (while Allen was in the game) came from Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman. Cooper made a great run toward the back corner of the end zone and Allen floated the ball perfectly placed where only his receiver could catch it. Allen threw him off his back foot, and Cooper jumped and landed on his back as he secured the sensational hold.

Coleman scored Allen’s final touchdown on a jump play of his own. Allen was flushed out of the pocket and bought himself as much time as possible before throwing the ball up and giving his receiver a chance.

Coleman went up and grabbed the ball between two Jets defenders.

Mitch Trubisky entered the game in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach and connected with training camp favorite Tyrell Shavers for a 69-yard touchdown on a short-screen pass.

Shavers was called up from the team’s practice squad in place of injured receiver Curtis Samuel.

Benford flashes All Pro cases and Milano

Benford had his second interception in the win and continued a great season as the team’s top cornerback.

The former sixth-round pick was one of the best lockdown corners in the league and allowed one of the lowest separation rates against opposing receivers in the NFL. Benford doesn’t appear in the box often, but he is a dangerous weapon for the Bills defense.

When Buffalo takes the ball away, it becomes one of the best teams in the league. The Bills set a franchise record with 501 points in a season. They have a chance to go one better next week against the Patriots.

Linebacker Matt Milano scored on a quarterback hit with a nice blitz from the left side in the second half. He dealt a good blow to Rodgers and later recovered a fumble.

There are still signs of rust for Milano, who missed recent games with a groin injury. But his performance against the Jets was his best since returning from a broken leg in 2023 and a biceps injury in training camp.