NY Jets embarrassed by the Buffalo Bills in ugly Week 1 loss

The NY Jets were embarrassed in their Week 1 opener falling to the Buffalo Bills.

The NY Jets were absolutely embarrassed in their 2020 season-opener against the Buffalo Bills falling to their division rivals by a final score of 27-17.

Although it was never really as close as the final score indicates.

The Jets were completely outplayed and outcoached on both sides of the ball as, aside from a 69-yard touchdown catch-and-run by Jamison Crowder and some late-game stat-padding, the offense struggled to pick up a first down let alone score.

Buffalo jumped out to an early 14-0 lead following three consecutive three-and-outs. In fact, the Jets didn’t even record their second first down of the game until their final drive of the second half.

The offense was abysmal with quarterback Sam Darnold putting together a very poor inaugural performance of the year. The third-year signal-caller finished 21-of-35 for 215 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

But much like the final score, the numbers are misleading.

Sam Darnold and the NY Jets played much worse than the numbers indicate.

Darnold made quite a few mistakes throughout the afternoon and never managed to get into a rhythm with his passing. Sure, his supporting cast didn’t provide much help, but he was bad independent of his situation.

Sam Darnold simply wasn’t good.

Head coach Adam Gase will once again shoulder the brunt of the blame and it’s hard to argue with that. Gase’s offense was dull and ill-prepared and his questionable play-calling didn’t help matters.

On defense, the Jets struggled mightily in the first half with Gregg Williams’ unit looking lost against Josh Allen and the Bills. Pierre Desir was benched before the half and his replacement, Nate Hairston, didn’t fare much better.

Blake Cashman exited the game with an injury in the first quarter and was replaced by Harvey Langi who, to his credit, made a couple of nice plays.

But all around, it was an embarrassing performance for the Jets that can’t be analyzed by looking at the stats. In this case, the numbers are very deceiving.

The Bills handily moved the ball with ease while the Jets offense couldn’t even pick up first downs. If not for two Josh Allen fumbles, a wide-open miss in the endzone and two missed field goals from under 40 yards by rookie kicker Tyler Bass, the final score would have been much more lopsided.

The Jets will now limp into a Week 2 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers where things will likely only get worse.