After 'weird' week, Rodgers and Jets can't overcome mistakes and missed chances in loss to Bills
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets’ tumultuous week ended the way so many have in recent seasons.
With another gut-wrenching loss.
Aaron Rodgers threw an interception on the Jets’ final drive and Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills ran out the clock Monday night in a 23-20 victory that was there for the taking for New York.
“It’s frustrating,” Rodgers said. “I’m here to win those games, but we’ve got to be on our details. It’s little things every single time.”
Such as the 11 penalties called against New York, which Rodgers said “seemed a little ridiculous” while being critical of the officials. Buffalo also had 11 penalties.
“Some of them seemed really bad,” the quarterback said of the penalty calls.
And there were the two missed field goals by Greg Zuerlein. And the offense going 1 for 4 in the red zone. And the defense’s inability to contain Buffalo’s run game.
“We had our chances,” Rodgers said.
The Jets endured a tough loss to Minnesota in London last Sunday, the firing of head coach Robert Saleh by owner Woody Johnson on Tuesday, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich replacing him as the interim and then Ulbrich demoting offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and replacing him with pass game coordinator Todd Downing on Wednesday.
“Yeah, it was a weird week,” Rodgers said.
Despite all that, a win against the Bills (4-2) would have put the Jets (2-4) in first place in the AFC East by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Instead, Ulbrich and the Jets are dealing with a three-game losing streak.
“We are by no means out of this thing,” Ulbrich insisted.
But Rodgers and the Jets know the margin for error gets smaller with each aggravating loss.
“I think there's concern, but that's important,” Rodgers said. “We need to maybe get going. This was a golden opportunity. Some games you win in the NFL and some games you give away. This was a giveaway.”
It appeared the Jets might have been on the verge of a special night when Rodgers completed a 52-yard Hail Mary throw for a touchdown to Allen Lazard just before halftime to cut their deficit to 20-17.
“When you catch those waves of momentum, you’ve got to ride it,” Ulbrich said. "And you’ve got to finish a team, which we didn’t do.”
Instead, the Jets got only three more points on Zuerlein’s game-tying 22-yard field goal.
“I thought we were going to have a big night on offense,” Rodgers said. “It should’ve been a 30-plus point game on offense and this shouldn’t even be a conversation.”
Rodgers finished 23 of 35 for 294 yards with two touchdowns and the INT. Breece Hall ran for 113 yards and had 56 receiving. Garrett Wilson had eight catches for 107 yards and Lazard had six receptions – including the Hail Mary grab – for 114 yards.
But getting just one touchdown out of four trips inside the Bills 20 was a major issue.
“We were terrible in the red zone,” Rodgers said. “We missed two field goals. We didn't convert on a 2-minute drive. We had plenty of chances.”
The run defense also had a rough night, allowing the Bills to gain 149 yards on the ground — including 97 by rookie Ray Davis, who stepped in for an injured James Cook and Buffalo didn't miss a beat.
“That’s not winning football from a defensive perspective,” Ulbrich said. “That’s on me. That’s on every player. That’s on every coach. That’s on all of us.”
When Tyler Bass pushed a 47-yarder wide right on Buffalo’s opening drive of the second half, the Jets appeared to still have the momentum.
Zuerlein tied it at 20 with a 22-yarder midway through the third quarter.
The Jets appeared to take the lead late on their next possession when Braelon Allen ran up the middle from 4 yards out, but left tackle Tyron Smith was called for holding — which Rodgers later said was “a phantom holding call.”
Rodgers connected with Wilson in the back of the end zone on the next play, but the wide receiver took a big hit and couldn’t hold onto the ball.
Zuerlein then hit the left upright on a 32-yard attempt to keep the game tied. He also missed a potential go-ahead 43-yarder with 9:44 left in the fourth quarter, hitting the upright again.
“I’m just not kicking the ball well,” said Zuerlein, who has three missed field goals in his last three games. “These guys deserve better and I can do better. I just need to do it.”
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