Buffalo Bills survive MNF fears and retain control of AFC East over Jets

You couldn’t ask for a better Monday Night Football to end week six. It was an emotional rollercoaster for both teams and it seemed like flags were being raised every other game. The good news is that the Bills overcame that kind of adversity by securing a narrow 23-20 win over the Jets.

Buffalo moves to 4-2 and ends its two-game losing streak while sending New York to 2-4. The Bills now have a two-game lead over the division. This primetime matchup between the Bills and Jets was definitely a better finish for the Bills compared to last season.

Although the Bills only scored three points in the second half, that was all they needed to secure this win. They had a dominant first half in which they put up 20 points and the Buffalo defense kept Aaron Rodgers off guard the entire game. Josh Allen had a much better game than last week. He finished the game 19/25 for 215 yards and 3 total touchdowns.

It seemed like the Bills were going to take control of this game until halftime, but then Aaron Rodgers hit Allen Lazard on a Hail Mary pass to end the first half and put the Jets within three points of the Bills. The good news for Buffalo is that the Jets were also only able to score three points.

The Buffalo defense stepped up in key moments to slow the Jets’ momentum. Defensive back AJ Epenesa made Tyron Smith look like a rookie from the outside. Safety Taylor Rapp was arguably the Bills’ best defensive player, and the rest of the defense did its job to contain Rodgers.

On offense, Allen made great strides toward winning the division. He looked like the MVP candidate he was through the first three weeks of the season. Additionally, the Bills’ offense didn’t have James Cook, but that didn’t matter given the presence of Ray Davis.

The fourth-round rookie rushed for 97 yards and had 55 receiving yards, including a fantastic 42-yard reception from Allen. This game showed Bills fans that Davis can carry the load even without Cook.

At one point there was a fear that the Bills were on their way to another heartbreaking loss. The Bills had 11 penalties for 94 yards, most of which came in the second half. At the same time, half of these punishments were highly questionable. Later in the fourth quarter, the referees began calling penalties against the Jets. They would also finish the game with 11 penalties.

As the Jets completed their final drive, Rodgers threw the ball down the field to Mike Williams, but Taron Johnson had other plans and sealed the game-winning interception.

The Bills can now celebrate this win and stay atop the AFC East before returning to Orchard Park in Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans.