The Jets (6-3) got back in the win column on Sunday, taking down the Bills (6-2) at MetLife Stadium in a Week 9 game. Here are three takeaways from the game as the Green & White take Week 10 off.
Jets Secondary Contains NFL's No. 1 Pass Offense
The Jets' defense held Bills' QB Josh Allen and the No. 1 passing offense to a season-low 183 net yards. Allen threw for a season-low 205 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions for a 46.8 rating.
WR Stefon Diggs, who entered Sunday with three straight 100-yard games, had 5 catches for 93 yards in the first half, including a 42-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage with rookie CB Sauce Gardner in coverage. Diggs did not have a reception in the second half.
"I know Ahmad got beat on that first play on that double move, but he still stayed poised and in the game," HC Robert Saleh said. "He wasn't even fazed by it. … I feel like the communication has been so good and the precision at which we're playing at in the back end has been so much better than a year ago."
Saleh added on D.J. Reed: "If you really sit down and watch the tape and dissect what he's been doing, he's playing at an All-Pro level. He's every bit as deserving of the praise that Ahmad gets. He's kind of one our quiet leaders, our quiet champs if you will in terms of what he does and what he brings on and off the field and at practice."
Gardner had his second interception of the season and broke up Allen's 65-yard pass intended for Gabe Davis on fourth-and-21 to seal the victory.
Run Game Dominates
One game after the Jets had a season-low 15 carries against the Patriots, they ran a season-high 34 times for 174 yards (5.1 avg).
Michael Carter led the way with a season-high 76 yards on 12 carries for an average of 6.3 yards per attempt. James Robinson, who was questionable to play with a knee injury, had 13 carries for 48 yards and had a receiving touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Jets the lead, 17-14.
"I felt good," Robinson said. "It shows the run was working and we kept going back to it. Ain't no point in stopping it."
He added of the TD: "Once I got it, I knew I had my kickout blocks, but it felt good to get in there again."
The Jets ran the ball 12 times for 78 yards in the fourth quarter, 10 of which came on the team's final 13-play 86-yard scoring drive that elapsed six minutes and 10 seconds.
"Especially for the guys up front, we love when the coaches have that confidence in us to just run the ball," LG Laken Tomlinson said. "It feels great when we can just go out there and impose our will on people. I'm just real proud of how the guys responded. I'm real proud of our offensive line. … It's a great feeling. It fires me up. It's the best place to be in football."
Special Teams
The Jets special teams once again played a crucial role in the team's victory, and overcame a couple errors.
P Braden Mann slipped on the opening kickoff, which went 20 yards. The Bills started their first drive on their 45-yard line, but did not score as Allen was intercepted by Jordan Whitehead three plays later.
In the fourth quarter, Mann pinned the Bills on their 12-yard line, but CB Justin Hardee was flagged for unnecessary roughness, putting Buffalo on its 27. The Jets defense held that series and forced the Bills into their second punt of the game.
On the positive side of the ledger, the Jets successfully ran their second fake punt. Facing fourth-and-1 on the team's opening drive of the second half, S Ashtyn Davis caught a direct snap and got the first down on a 2-yard gain that put the Green & White at midfield.
"We practice a bunch of fakes all the time," LS Thomas Hennessy said.
K Greg Zeurlein, whose 28-yard field goal gave the Jets a 20-17 lead, also had a 53-yard boot in the first quarter.
See the best images from the 20-17 win against the Bills.