Bills look impressive in win over the Jets

By Connor Byrne | Monday, October 17, 2005 | ( 0 )

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In an important divisional matchup, the Buffalo Bills upended the New York Jets 27-17 in front of a sold-out crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium. During the week, the focus of this game centered around the two starting quarterbacks, Kelly Holcomb of the Bills, and Vinny Testaverde of the Jets. Holcomb looked poised as he completed 18 of his 26 pass attempts for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. He did throw 2 interceptions but looked solid throughout. As for Testaverde, he did not enjoy the same fortune as his counterpart. The 41-year old completed just 12 of 26 passes for 161 yards and 2 interceptions. He also lost a fumble on a mishandled snap in the fourth quarter. However, he did manage to find the end zone once on a quarterback keeper from the Bills' goal line.

The two players that actually came to the forefront in this game were the starting running backs. Jets' starter Curtis Martin had his finest showing of the season as he rushed 18 times for a whopping 148 yards and a touchdown. He astounded the Bills' defense as he averaged 8.2 yards per carry. Coming into the game, Martin was averaging just 2.7 yards per carry on the season. This performance reminded everyone of why he is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame someday. As for the Bills, they may be looking at a future Hall of Famer of their own. Willis McGahee stole the show for the Bills as he rushed 29 times for 143 yards and a touchdown. It was third time going over the century mark on the season. He also added 24 yards receiving.

In my mind, there were two very surprising aspects of this game. First of all, I expected the Jets' defense to hold the Bills offense down and make the game close. However, their run defense was weak and their pass-rush was nothing to write home about. Their inability to get to the passer led to Holcomb picking their secondary apart on a few occasions, even though linebacker Mark Brown and cornerback Ty Law each added interceptions. The second surprising thing about this game was the performance by the Bills' offensive line. They have been a weak unit all year long but they certainly rose to the occasion in this game as they cleared the Bills' path to 177 rushing yards and surrendered just one sack to the Jets' vaunted front-seven. Bills' right tackle Mike Williams, out since mid-September with a hamstring injury, clearly made his presence felt in this game. In the first quarter, he allowed a sack to Jets' defensive end Shaun Ellis, but looked very good for the remainder of the day.

For the second straight week, the Buffalo Bills' defense came up big. They did allow Martin to have a big day on the ground but they managed to force 3 key turnovers and pressured Testaverde the entire game. On the day, they sacked him 5 times. Defensive end Ryan Denney led the way with 2 sacks. Angelo Crowell and Terrence McGee had key interceptions as the New York Jets were threatening deep inside Bills' territory. The Bills' defense needs to continue to play well if this team expects to be in the hunt for the post-season.

One area where both teams looked very good was special teams. For the second straight week, the Bills' unit was tremendous and was very instrumental in the victory. Kicker Rian Lindell converted a key 50-yard field goal at the close of the first-half and really gave the Bills the momentum headed for the locker room. He also nailed a 38-yard try with 5:41 left in regulation. Kick returner Terrence McGee looked great yet again as he averaged 34.7 yards on his returns. As for the Jets, kicker Mike Nugent converted his only try, a 44-yarder. Kick returner Justin Miller looked solid as well as he chipped in with a 39-yard return.

With the victory, the Bills improve to 3-3 and will face the difficult task of going into Oakland next Sunday to face the Raiders. The best part about the victory for the Bills is that they are now 2-0 in the AFC East, 3-0 in the conference, and into a tie for first-place in the division with the New England Patriots. As for the Jets, they drop to 2-4 and 1-1 in the AFC East. They will head for Atlanta to take on the Falcons next Monday.

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