|
 To Byrd, that was a signal that he and Buffalo's defense had done
its job in thoroughly rattling rookie starter Geno Smith.
"It sits great with us," Byrd said. "Any time you can do that, it
means we're being relentless out there."
That was the case from start to finish as the Bills defense and
blustery winds gusting up to 30 mph proved too much for Smith and
the Jets to handle in Buffalo's dominating 37-14 victory.
Byrd had two interceptions. Defensive tackle Kyle Williams had two
sacks and forced a fumble. And, safety Da'Norris Searcy returned
another Smith interception 32 yards for a touchdown as Buffalo
turned four turnovers by the quarterback into 17 points.
The Bills got after Smith from the Jets' opening possession. That's
when defensive tackle Marcell Dareus briefly knocked the quarterback
out of the game by hitting him in the midsection.
"First play of the game, I knew that we had him," Dareus said. "We
got a big lick on him, and he kind of rolled around. We knew right
then we were in his head. From then on, he looked crazy, looked
scattered."
The Bills also didn't take too kindly upon hearing the Jets spent
part of Saturday at Dave & Busters, a chain restaurant and
entertainment venue in suburban Buffalo.
"Me personally, I feel they're disrespectful in the first place, so
it didn't shock me," Bills defensive end Mario Williams said.
Jets coach Rex Ryan defended the decision, saying it wasn't meant to
be disrespectful.
"I don't know why that's added motivation. We do different things
when we're on the road," Ryan said. "We went out as a team, so
that's what we did."
The Bills (4-7) snapped a three-game skid and enter their bye week
by winning for only the second time in seven games.
The Jets (5-5), coming off their bye, continued their string of
inconsistent outings by becoming the NFL's first team to alternate
wins and losses through the first 10 games of the season.
Smith, a second-round pick out of West Virginia, went 8 of 23 for
103 yards passing, and was blunt in assessing his outing.
"The way I can sum up this game is 'awful,'" Smith said. "I couldn't
hit anything today. I just wasn't hitting the mark."
Bills rookie quarterback EJ Manuel, selected 16th overall out of
Florida State, was far better. He finished 20 of 28 for 245 yards
passing and two scores. And he did so with Buffalo playing minus
both starting receivers: Stevie Johnson (groin) and Robert Woods
(sprained left ankle).
[to top of second column] |
Smith has now gone a combined 36 of 72 for 377
yards passing, with no touchdowns and five interceptions in his
past three games. And he's particularly struggled on the road,
where he dropped to 1-4 and thrown four touchdown passes and 10
interceptions. Overall, he has eight touchdowns, 16
interceptions and has lost four fumbles.
Ryan attempted to deflect criticism directed at his quarterback
by noting Smith had little protection.
"With that protection, you could've had Joe Namath back there
and I don't think it would've mattered today," Ryan said.
"Obviously, when you turn the ball over four times, that's a
poor performance."
It was so bad that the Jets managed just 267 yards offense and a
season-low 12 first downs. Under Smith, the Jets produced 4
yards offense, no first downs and committed two turnovers on 13
plays over the final five possessions of the first half.
Jets' running back Chris Ivory scored on a 1-yard plunge on
fourth down. Simms marched the Jets on a six-play, 62-yard
drive, capped by a 13-yard pass to Jeff Cumberland with 9:36
left.
The Bills took control in the final minutes of the first half.
Starting with Manuel's 34-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Graham
with 4:05 left, Buffalo scored 17 points over a span of 2:50 to
build a 20-0 lead with 65 seconds left in the first half. Kyle
Williams' sack and forced fumble led to fullback Frank Summers
scoring on a 3-yard run. Then Byrd's first interception set up
Dan Carpenter's 42-yard field goal.
NOTES: The conditions were so tough that a tear-away portion of
the football-field sized American flag came undone during the
national anthem. ... Jets PK Nick Folk missed his first
field-goal attempt of the season after a 48-yarder sailed wide
right. Folk's streak ended at 23 straight, one short of matching
the franchise record set by Jay Feely from 2008-09. ... Among
those in attendance was New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who
played a big role last year in negotiating the Bills' 10-year
lease agreement to stay at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
___
AP NFL website:
http://www.pro32.ap.org/
[Associated
Press; JOHN WAWROW, AP Sports Writer]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
