In a shocking turn of events, the New York Jets defeated the Buffalo Bills 34-21 on Thursday Night Football. Everything the Jets team lacked the previous eight games came together tonight. The Jets pass rush was back in full force, they were able to establish the run game and Josh McCown put on a solid performance. Along with all of those came great coaching and a defense that chased down every loose ball. This win puts the Jets back on track at 4-5 and still in prime position in the AFC wild card race.
Week Nine New York Jets Takeaways
Todd Bowles
We have to give the man a tremendous amount of credit for the job that Todd Bowles has done this year. After his general manager traded away or cut basically every veteran and impact player, a lot of analysts thought the Jets would go 0-16. Bowles had them all buy into his system and now, nine weeks into the season, the Jets are 4-5. Perhaps no performance was more evident of the job he has done this season than tonight, on national television. He put a beat down on his divisional rivals who many, if not all, thought were coming into New York for an easy victory. Winning a game as an underdog is one thing, doing it in front of a national audience is another. Bowles might have put any coaching change rumors to bed tonight.
Defensive Line
Wow, what an impact a defensive line can have. After trading away Sheldon Richardson and not being able to apply any constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks, the Jets defense stomped Tyrod Taylor and sacked him seven times. The pressure was enough to force Taylor and the Bills offense into second and third and long situations, which in return gave the Jets great starting field position. If the Jets are able to establish constant pressure it will help with their fourth quarter woes and possibly put a few more tallies in the win column.
Josh McCown
Not many people have been able to get a good read on McCown this season. The 38-year-old journeyman who is currently on his eighth team sometimes reminds you why with his erratic play. He had a horrible throw in the first half that should have been intercepted but luckily for him it wasn’t. Other times he shows fans why he is still in the league at 38. It included a perfect pass to Robby Anderson at the start of the the third quarter that helped precipitate a run of 24 unanswered points for the Jets. His play has been enough this year to get the Jets to four wins through nine games and will hopefully lead to more down the road.
