NY Jets: Studs and duds following Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills

The NY Jets saw quite a few standouts — both good and bad — in their Week 1 loss.

That wasn’t pretty, that’s all I have to say. The NY Jets came out in Week 1 and got absolutely outplayed by the Buffalo Bills.

Losing by a final score of 27-17 doesn’t quite do it justice. The Jets were severely outplayed. But despite the total team failure there were a few individual bright spots.

Some players managed to stand out amidst the darkness of an otherwise unwatchable game. On the other hand, there were quite a few players who struggled on Sunday contributing to the team’s poor play.

In essence, some studs and some duds.

The Jets’ Week 1 loss to the Bills has many feeling pessimistic. And after the complete and utter domination at the hands of their division rivals, it’s hard to produce any optimism.

With an eye on the future, it’s best to put this game behind us. But first, some analysis is in order.

So, as I will do every week, I will give you which players were the Jets’ studs and duds of the week. Who I thought played above expectation and who just flat out disappointed.

So without further ado, here are Week 1’s studs and duds for the NY Jets.

Next: A star safety and a disappointing quarterback

Stud: Marcus Maye, S, NY Jets

Marcus Maye was by far the most impressive player for the Jets this week. After trading away Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams, the pressure and expectations were put onto Maye, and boy did he deliver.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams put him into Adams’ old role, bringing him up into the box, playing near the line of scrimmage and Maye played great.

Putting up a stat line of 10 total tackles, seven of which were solo tackles, adding in two sacks and two pass defenses. Oh did I mention he forced a fumble in the first quarter? Yeah, Maye did all of that.

Maye was by far the best player on the Jets this week, shining in his new role, not only as a star but as a leader. Stepping into the captain role on the Jets, if this is the guy who is leading Gang Green’s defense for the next few years, it may not be the worst thing.

Want your voice heard? Join the The Jet Press team!

Write for us!

Dud: Sam Darnold, QB, NY Jets

This is the tough one. Coming into the week, Jets fans were probably boasting about how much better Sam Darnold is than his Bills counterpart Josh Allen, but it certainly did not show this week as Darnold just looked bad.

Darnold threw for 215 yards, going 21-of-35 on the day with one touchdown pass, one interception, and a QBR of just 19.3.

Now aside from the QBR, those numbers aren’t terrible, but if you were watching the game you would have noticed that Darnold overthrew his targets many times and just looked off.

He didn’t seem confident in his throws and didn’t have that playmaking ability that we saw flashes of last year. Probably the worst thing he did all day was the interception when he rolled to the left and threw a lob off of his back foot into double coverage.

That is a rookie mistake and it just can’t happen.

Overall this was an extremely disappointing opening week from Darnold. In what many consider a make or break season for the third-year quarterback, he has to be better.

Next: A tale of two cornerbacks

Stud: Blessuan Austin, CB, NY Jets

Blessuan Austin didn’t amaze, he didn’t force any crazy turnovers, but he did his job and that was exactly what the Jets needed from him. Austin came into the year as a starter with some question marks but on Sunday, he established himself as a solid starting cornerback.

His stat line won’t wow you — eight tackles with one for a loss, but hey, the Jets just needed quality play on Sunday. While Josh Allen and the rest of the Bills torched the Jets’ defense, Austin was doing his job in coverage and showed Jets fans why he is on this team.

Dud: Pierre Desir, CB, NY Jets

The experiment of Pierre Desir in the Jets secondary has pretty much failed after the first game of the season. He was outplayed and dominated by Josh Allen and company today.

Desir gave way too much cushion on the wideouts he was covering and allowed the Bills plenty of space to burn the Jets defense.

He didn’t even play the entire game. That’s also an indicator of how bad he was this week.

Desir was replaced in the first half by Nate Hairston (who also didn’t look all that amazing) after having been beaten repeatedly by Stefon Diggs.

Next: A reliable wideout and a struggling coach

Stud: Jamison Crowder, WR, NY Jets

The final stud of Week 1 for the Jets is everybody’s favorite slot receiver Jamison Crowder. It shouldn’t be surprising that he led the team offensively this week because he did the same thing last year. Crowder is likely Darnold’s favorite target, particularly on third down.

Racking up 115 yards on seven receptions, Crowder averaged 16.9 yards per catch and dazzled during his 69-yard touchdown reception in which he turned a simple out route into an explosive play.

Overall, he was the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal day when it comes to the passing game.

Dud: Adam Gase, HC, NY Jets

More from The Jet Press

• NY Jets should try to sign Kenny Golladay in free agency
• NY Jets: Jonnu Smith would be a smart free-agent target
• NY Jets: 3 non-quarterback trade targets on offense
• NY Jets expected to be ‘much more aggressive’ in free agency this year
• NY Jets: Patriots will not use the franchise tag on Joe Thuney

Normally I might pick a third player who struggled this week, but there was so much wrong with the team as a whole I had to go with the man in charge.

Adam Gase’s squad looked outmatched, unprepared, sloppy, and just not good during this loss. Coming into the game with a bunch of guys with things to prove, the Jets were just failures on Sunday.

Too many penalties, too many blown coverages, and not enough creative play-calling were just some of the problems this week.

Oh and not to mention the lack of tackling and the inability to contain the quarterback, it was just awful all-around. And for a so-called quarterback whisperer, it was very bad how poorly his quarterback played.

I am not someone who is calling for Gase’s job right now, but if this continues, he will definitely be on the hot seat.