Orchard Park, NY (WGR550) – The Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Jets 40-14 to secure second place in the AFC playoffs and complete a season without a home loss for the first time since 1990.

Here are my up arrows and down arrows from the game:

UP ARROW

Shutout for the first team defense

When most of the starting defense left the field in the fourth quarter, the score was 40-0. The first unit threw a shutout.

QB Josh Allen

Allen made his (most likely) final claim to league MVP with two touchdown passes, both of which were highlight reel plays, and added a touchdown run. He finished the game 16-for-27 (59%) for 182 yards passing with the two scores, plus 17 yards on the ground, including the other touchdown. Three touchdowns and no turnovers or sacks for Allen on the day.

Fourth stop

On the game’s very first drive, the Jets drove all the way to the Bills’ 24-yard line, where they faced a 3rd-and-1 pass. Rodgers’ pass failed incomplete. They tried it on 4th-and-1 and the Bills defense stuffed running back Braelon Allen for no gain and took the lead right there. It was a big stop to start the game.

DE AJ Epenesa

Epenesa made a great play when he sacked safety Aaron Rodgers, making it 9-0. He finished the game with four tackles, the sack, two tackles for loss and a QB hit.

DT Ed Oliver

Oliver filled the stat sheet with four tackles, including three tackles for loss, a sack, a QB hit and a forced fumble.

Interception by DT Jordan Phillips

Defensive tackle Austin Johnson has two picks this season, and now Jordan Phillips has one after Greg Rousseau hit a pass from Aaron Rodgers into the air and Phillips was able to grab it on the way down.

WR Amari Cooper’s catch

Cooper went up to somehow intercept a 30-yard pass in the end zone. That catch made the score 19-0 and really forced the Jets to be one-dimensional for the rest of the game.

WR Keon Coleman’s catch

Late in the third quarter, as Allen scrambled to his right, he shot a ball to Coleman on the left side of the end zone. Coleman jumped up and threw the ball over two defenders, making the score 33-0.

Interception by Christian Benford

Shortly after Benford almost caught a throw from Aaron Rodgers, he managed to undercut a ball intended for Allen Lazard, intercept it and recover it 24 yards. Another 15 yards were added after Rodgers pushed him late.

K Tyler Bass

Bass was perfect on all of his shots, going 5-for-5 on extra points and hitting a 39-yard field goal.

P Sam Martin

Martin stabbed three times. One went 51 yards and another was perfectly placed at the Jets’ 5-yard line, eventually leading to a safety.

Third-down offense

The Bills were excellent on their third attempt, converting 8 of 15 attempts (57.1%).

Red zone offense

The Bills scored a perfect 3-for-3 touchdowns when they got into the Jets’ red zone.

The weather!

It was like football in October! Mid 50’s and the rain wasn’t falling. There were some strong gusts of wind, but not consistently windy.

The fans! 8-0 at home

Bills fans deserve an arrow up for being there all season and being part of the team that went undefeated at home in the regular season for the first time in 34 years!

——————————————————————————————

DOWN ARROW

Big runs allowed

The Jets had five runs of at least ten yards. This allowed them to finish the game with 112 rushing yards and an average of 5.3 yards per carry.

Running game

The Bills couldn’t get their run-running game going. They ran for just 2.9 yards per carry and ran 34 times for 97 yards.

WR Keon Coleman’s drops

Coleman had two drops, both of which could have been for big yards. One landed on a Josh Allen scramble and the other was a slant that was tipped at the line but still hit him in the hands.

Running game in the fourth quarter

When several of the Bills’ substitutes played in the fourth quarter, they had even more trouble running the ball. Ray Davis and Reggie Gilliam, who both carried the ball most of the time in the final quarter, combined for just 12 yards on 8 carries (1.5 yards per carry).

Penalties in the first half

In the first half alone, the Bills were flagged six times for 65 yards. They only conceded one penalty in the second half.