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 The Buffalo Bills raced out to a 19-point third quarter lead on
Thursday before withstanding a furious rally by the New York Jets to
hang on for a 22-17 victory at MetLife Stadium.
The Bills won their second in a row to improve to 5-4 and moved into
the thick of the AFC wild card picture in their first year under
Ryan, who coached the Jets from 2009-14.
The Jets (5-4) have lost three of four.
The Bills led 12-3 at the half and extended the lead to 22-3 in the
first seven minutes of the third quarter when quarterback Tyrod
Taylor threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to running back Karlos
Williams and kicker Dan Carpenter booted a 29-yard field goal.
But the Jets pulled within five on a pair of touchdown passes by
quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick -- a 14-yarder to Brandon Marshall late
in the third quarter and a 31-yarder to Eric Decker midway through
the fourth quarter.
The Bills went three-and-out on their next possession and prepared
to punt from their own 28-yard-line. But punter Colton Schmidt
dropped the snap and was swallowed up by several Jets as he
recovered it at the Bills' 13-yard-line with 5:12 left.
But the Jets could not take advantage.
Running back Chris Ivory gained eight yards on first down before
losing a yard on second down. A short pass to Decker lost a yard on
third down and Fitzpatrick's fourth down pass into the end zone
sailed over the head of tight end Kellen Davis.
The Bills punted with less than a minute left, but Fitzpatrick's
next pass was picked off. Ryan responded by pumping his fist so hard
his hat fell off.
Running back LeSean McCoy gained 112 yards on 19 carries for the
Bills.
Fitzpatrick was 15-of-34 for 193 yards, two touchdowns and two
interceptions.
Ryan jogged out of the tunnel at to a chorus of boos from a sparse,
late-arriving crowd just priot to kickoff.
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The boos grew a little louder a few minutes later, when the captains
-- including Bills linebacker IK Enemkpali, who was released by the
Jets after slugging quarterback Geno Smith in a locker room
altercation Aug. 12 -- went to midfield for the coin toss.
The Jets and Bills then went out and played the type of sluggish,
offensively-challenged game that only Ryan could love. The two teams
combined for 12 first half possessions, only two of which yielded
more than one first down.
The Jets took a 3-0 lead when new kicker Randy Bullock capped a
10-play, 76-yard drive by booting a 29-yard field goal with 4:01
left in the first quarter.
The Bills took the lead by scoring nine points in nine seconds late
in the second quarter. A 47-yard field goal by Carpenter tied the
game with 5:47 remaining.
Jets wide receiver Devin Smith fumbled the subsequent kickoff and
safety Duke Williams picked up the ball and raced untouched into the
end zone for a 19-yard touchdown.
Carpenter's 41-yard field goal with three seconds left extended the
lead to 12-3.
(Compiled by Peter Rutherford)
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