New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills: Top 5 takeaways from Week 1 matchup

The New York Jets showed no urgency in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills as the 2017 season is officially underway.

The New York Jets aren’t expected to do much this season for the type of team they have. The Jets took a step back in development in Week 1 as they went into New Era Field and got beaten up by the Buffalo Bills to the final score of 21-12. From the start and end of the game, the Jets looked like a team that had no urgency.

Looking at the offensive side of the football, the two turnovers were costly errors that stalled the Jets offense from getting anything going. The Jets offense went 3 and out a lot and this made the defense stay on the field longer.

With the loss, the Jets are now 0-1 and will try to regroup and prepare for the Oakland Raiders in Week 2. In this game, there were a lot of things that as a fan you shake your head.

Let’s take a deeper look and break down the top 5 takeaways from this Week 1 matchup.

Next: 5. Offense shows no urgency

5. Offense shows no urgency

Throughout the game, the Jets offense looked very sluggish and looked like they were playing the same boring style of play like last season. There were too many dropped footballs and key players like Robby Anderson and Matt Forte were the main culprits.

The Jets only totaled 214 yards of total offense which is a stat you don’t want to see. They had five major penalties in the game and two were on the offensive side of the football. In the red zone, the Jets went 1-1 which is important to score when you are in that part of the field.

They weren’t able to mix up the play calling which is frustrating to see under new offensive coordinator John Morton. If they opened up the offensive play calling more it could have opened up the field and help put some points on the board. At the end, for a new offensive coordinator in his first game on the job, Morton was pretty vanilla and passive with his game plan.

Next: 4. Defensive line brings no pressure

4. Defensive line brings no pressure

Sunday’s game was very difficult in watching due to the defensive line of the Jets bringing no pressure at all against quarterback Tyrod Taylor. He had a lot of time in sitting or running out of the pocket while making fools out of the Jets secondary.

Taylor threw for 218 yards and looked like he was having way too much fun against the Jets defense. The Bills were 3 for 4 in the red zone and the Jets were unable to do much of anything against them as they scored at will.

The defensive line was supposed to be some of the best in the NFL for how athletic they are, and they looked more like the worst in the league. They didn’t bring consistent pressure and as a result, were embarrassed by missed tackles and assignments.

The offense of the Bills dropped 408 yards of total offense which tells you nothing changed from last season. It adds more to the “Same Old Jets” mantra we’ve been hearing about for years.

Next: 3. Defensive secondary played horrendous

3. Defensive secondary played horrendous

The Jets secondary had a horrendous performance which is very frustrating to watch. Three costly penalties and missed coverages that blew up allowed the Bills receivers and tight ends to get open easily.

The Bills had 218 yards in passing which is unacceptable. When they needed to make critical third down stops, the Jets secondary couldn’t make them. It was too many blown coverages as the growing pains are real for all the new players trying to find cohesion as a group.

Clearly, the secondary of the Jets have a lot of work ahead of them before they can play solid defense. Otherwise, prolific quarterbacks will pick them apart weekly.

The Jets need to work on all the little things when it comes to their secondary if they’re to improve. Hopefully in practice this week, this group works on tackling, sticking to assignments, and adjusting when needed because this could get ugly real quick for this team.

Next: 2. Offense doesn't take any shots downfield

2. Offense doesn’t take any shots downfield

Every snap, the Jets offense looked very sluggish and wasn’t able to produce many first downs. It goes to show once again, without any elite playmakers or decent offensive linemen, the offense will struggle big time. Worst of all, their play calling was vanilla and it’s sad they didn’t even try to take any shots downfield to try and open things up.

More from Jets News

• NY Jets should target TE Hunter Henry in free agency
• NY Jets: Why the team should target cornerback Shaquill Griffin
• NY Jets reportedly non-tendering linebacker Harvey Langi
• NY Jets: Why the team should not cut Jamison Crowder
• NY Jets should try to sign Kenny Golladay in free agency

McCown’s leadership is one thing but it’s clear he’s lacking the arm strength to try and air it out in a game where they needed to take a few shots downfield to maybe create a spark.

Besides that, the running game was a complete no-show which is an immense problem as it only produced 38 total yards. It is important to get everyone involved and not become one-dimensional. Despite not trying to go for a big play down the field, the lack of establishing the run made them so predictable on offense, it’s easy to see why the Bills defense seemed to be one step ahead.

The Jets offense will need more time to hopefully develop some kind of identity. They have to at least try some big plays down the field or at the very least, get more of their dynamic players involved like Bilal Powell and their rookie receivers like ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen.

Next: 1. Todd Bowles coaching decisions were confusing

1. Todd Bowles coaching decisions were confusing

Everyone is hoping this is the last year of head coach Todd Bowles who doesn’t seem to know what he is doing. It makes you wonder if he was paying attention throughout the game. He made a very questionable call going for two points late in the third quarter.

When he went for two you wonder why he would even consider doing that. There was a whole quarter left to play in the game. The 2-point conversion was unsuccessful, and the play call was baffling. In that situation, no need to go for it when it isn’t needed to win or tie a game late.

When the Jets were down two touchdowns late in the game and it was fourth down, you don’t punt the football. You have to go for it to maybe score and give your team a chance. Bowles failed to do so and decided to punt it which simply, doesn’t many any football sense.

Must Read: An open letter to the Jets about not tanking in 2017

It seems like Bowles just gave up on the game and he just wanted to get out of Buffalo. As a coach in any sport you never show defeat and from his body language, he needs to show more aggression and urgency. That same blank look will only take a coach so far when players start questioning their bizarre decisions