The New York Jets pulled off one of the unlikeliest victories in their recent history, but unfortunately, it was a bittersweet win knowing that they will be without their leader.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of the game and the season just four snaps into his Jets debut on what turned out to be a torn left Achilles tendon.
He was sacked by Leonard Floyd, and he fell awkwardly on his leg, which cast a shadow over this game, and perhaps the season for Gang Green.
However, the Jets' defense was aggressive all night and forced four turnovers of Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who, despite finishing 29 of 41 for 236 yards and a touchdown, was intercepted three times by Jordan Whitehead in what was an ugly, low-scoring season opener that culminated in rookie Xavier Gipson returning a punt 65 yards for a touchdown in overtime.
When Rodgers went down, he was taken to the blue medical tent to be examined. He later was carted to the locker room, though he hopped off the cart halfway there, but was visibly limping.
The injury occurred 3:45 into the game, and from there, third-year quarterback Zach Wilson took over, and while he didn't have to do too much in this game, he did just enough to help the Jets win, finishing 14 of 21 for 140 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
After a 26-yard run by Breece Hall on the Jets' first play of the game, Rodgers threw an incomplete pass after he was heavily pressured by Greg Rousseau. He threw another incompletion on the next play, but Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard was booked for a defensive hold.
Then Rodgers was evading a rushing Floyd, who wrapped him up and took him down on MetLife Stadium's turf.
And then everyone went silent. It felt like a nightmare unfolding before a crowd of 83,345.
The two teams exchanged field goals to start off. Tyler Bass from 40 yards out, and Greg Zuerlein from 26 yards out, the latter being set up by an 83-yard run by Hall.
The second-year running back had his rookie season cut abruptly short after he tore his ACL in his left knee, and spent the offseason working towards his comeback and made it to opening night, and showing the football world that he is amped up and ready to go 11 months after the injury.
Allen's only touchdown pass of the game was to Stefon Diggs, which was so close to being an illegal forward pass as Allen nearly crossed the line of scrimmage with his right foot on the line.
However, he tied a career-high with four turnovers and fell to 0-5 in his career in games going to overtime, including playoffs.
With 4:55 left in regulation, Zach Wilson found Garrett Wilson at the left side of the end zone, who tipped a ball to himself with his right hand, and with Tre'Davious White wrapping him up, and secured the ball as he was falling on his back in the end zone to tie the game 13-13.
As Allen recovered a botched snap from center Mitch Morse, he took the ball himself, but Micheal Clemons stripped it from him, and Quinnen Williams recovered it, which set up Zuerlein's third field goal, coming from 30 yards out, with 1:48 to go.
Allen and the Bills, however, had just enough time to get in field goal range, where Bass' 50-yarder hit the inside of the left upright before going over the crossbar to tie the game at 16 with two seconds to go in regulation.
Buffalo, however, went three-and-out to start overtime, and Sam Martin punted 42 yards to undrafted rookie Gipson, who made several moves and then sprinted down the left sideline, made some more cuts before stepping his way to the end zone to set off a huge celebration from his teammates.
There seemed to be a sense of familiarity for Allen after an offseason where the team emphasized on reducing turnovers and making smarter decisions with the football.
He did anything but that.
Allen now has 84 turnovers since entering the league in 2018, the most in the NFL in that span. He now has the most losses in overtime, including postseason, without a win or tie, the most among quarterbacks.
Despite new playmakers on the offense, the inconsistences in making plays against one of the toughest defenses in the league persisted.
While the defense limited Zach Wilson, and with Floyd and Rousseau making good impressions, especial with Von Miller out at least the first four games of the season due to right ACL surgery, the defense gave up 172 rushing yards, and the Jets scored 13 points off Buffalo's turnovers, with 10 of them coming on their final two drives of the fourth quarter, excluding the kneel-down to end regulation.
While Allen and the offense had their moments, including the touchdown drive in the second quarter and the game-tying field goal drive, the offensive line struggled throughout the game, including right tackle Spencer Brown, and the receivers had trouble getting open.
Forcing deep balls were also a commonplace problem for the Bills. Allen was 4 of 9 on throws that went for at least 15 air yards, including the three interceptions. All of those picks came against the Jets' standard pass rush.
The three interceptions were tied for the most interceptions in a game in Allen's career.
He completed 81% of his passes in the first half (17 of 21), but was sacked three times despite the Jets blitzing him in just three of 27 dropbacks (11%). The blitz was shown more frequently in the second half and overtime (8 of 22, 36%), and Allen completed just 60% of his passes in that frame.
They need to turn things around quickly at home against the Las Vegas Raiders on their Week 2 Sunday match, and they have to find something to get Allen closer to the offseason goals the team promised.
As for the Jets, Rodgers' devastating injury sparked a lot of speculation about possible replacements. They're looking to add a veteran, but head coach Robert Saleh emphasized that Zach Wilson is their QB1 moving forward, and no addition will compete for the starting job.
Blindside tackle Duane Brown, 38, who didn't see a lot of practice after he recovered from a shoulder injury, was beat by Floyd, while Brown tried to perform a cut block. Heading into the game, Rodgers didn't like how his coaches were utilizing plays featuring cut blocks.
The only other quarterback on the Jets' roster is journeyman Tim Boyle, who will be called up from the practice squad to be the primary backup if the Jets don't get a veteran QB from free agency or the trade market.
Originally, the plan was for Wilson to be Rodgers' understudy before returning to the starting job, but that all changed.
It was a devastating blow to the Jets, where they had Super Bowl aspirations with Rodgers and built the team around him. With the severity of the injury, his playing career is now in question.
Before the game, Rodgers said that he wanted to play a few more years. The Jets have him under contract through 2025 and he is due $75 million in guarantees after he took a voluntary $35 million pay cut in August.
The Jets saw this as a "reset" season for Wilson, who was the subject of criticism when he declined to accept any blame for the team's loss to the New England Patriots after his poor performance and was benched two days after that game. Now, he said that he is "a lot more prepared" after he worked with Rodgers.
While he was shaky, having thrown a first half interception, he helped rally the team back from a 10-point deficit.
And while he threw for less than 155 yards in three of his first six starts last season, he won five of said six starts, having played the role of game manager.
A big emphasis was that they were 5-2 with Hall and right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker last season. When both went down to season-ending injuries in Week 7, the Jets finished the campaign on a 2-8 run, losing their final six games, and were 1-7 after their Week 10 bye.
Wilson is a more effective quarterback when outside the pocket, according to an executive within the organization, who suggested that offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett get more rollout plays to maximize the young QB's mobility. Rodgers also encouraged him to run more.
They also leaned more to packages where they utilized multiple tight ends. They ran 10 times for 115 yards while using the "13" personnel—one running back and three tight ends. It paid off, with Tyler Conklin, C.J. Uzomah, and Jeremy Ruckert blocking well. It's a change of pace, but an offense can't rely on this formation all the time.
There's going to be a leadership hole to fill now that Rodgers is not on the field, and it puts Wilson in a tough spot as his leadership was under scrutiny last season. He'll have to find his own way of leadership and not directly copy off of Rodgers. And he'll have to do it in a win-now season.
And it starts when they take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium.
Scoring
Buffalo, 3:05 1st: Tyler Bass 40-yard field goal; 3-0 Buffalo
NY Jets, 10:35 2nd: Greg Zuerlein 26-yard field goal; 3-3 Tie
Buffalo, 4:43 2nd: Stefon Diggs 5-yard TD pass from Josh Allen (Tyler Bass kick); 10-3 Buffalo
Buffalo, 0:17 2nd: Tyler Bass 34-yard field goal; 13-3 Buffalo
NY Jets, 8:59 3rd: Greg Zuerlein 43-yard field goal; 13-6 Buffalo
NY Jets, 4:55 4th: Garrett Wilson 3-yard TD pass from Zach Wilson (Greg Zuerlein kick); 13-13 Tie
NY Jets, 1:48 4th: Greg Zuerlein 30-yard field goal; 16-13 NY Jets
Buffalo, 0:02 4th: Tyler Bass 50-yard field goal; 16-16 Tie
NY Jets, 9:02 OT: Xavier Gipson 65-yard punt return GW-TD; 22-16 NY Jets
Passing
BUFFALO BILLS
Josh Allen: 29/41, 236 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, 5 sacks, 62.7 passer rating
NEW YORK JETS
Zach Wilson: 14/21, 140 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 81.4 passer rating
Rushing
BUFFALO BILLS
James Cook: 12 attempts, 46 yards, 0 TD
Josh Allen: 6 attempts, 36 yards, 0 TD, 2 fumbles
NEW YORK JETS
Breece Hall: 10 attempts, 127 yards, 0 TD
Dalvin Cook: 13 attempts, 33 yards, 0 TD
Receiving
BUFFALO BILLS
Stefon Diggs: 10 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD
Gabe Davis: 2 receptions, 32 yards, 0 TD
Dalton Kincaid: 4 receptions, 26 yards, 0 TD
Dawson Knox: 3 receptions, 25 yards, 0 TD
NEW YORK JETS
Allen Lazard: 2 receptions, 46 yards, 0 TD
Garrett Wilson: 5 receptions, 34 yards, 1 TD
Dalvin Cook: 3 receptions, 26 yards, 0 TD
Defensive
BUFFALO BILLS
Terrel Bernard: 11 tackles (4 solo)
Matt Milano: 8 tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception
Jordan Poyer: 7 tackles (4 solo)
Ed Oliver: 5 tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL, 3 QB hits, 0.5 sacks
Jordan Phillips: 3 tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 sack
Leonard Floyd: 3 tackles (1 solo), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1.5 sacks
NEW YORK JETS
D.J. Reed Jr.: 11 tackles (10 solo)
Quincy Williams: 10 tackles (9 solo), 1 TFL, 1 pass defensed
C.J. Mosley: 7 tackles (5 solo)
Jermaine Johnson II: 5 tackles (4 solo), 2 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 sack
Quinnen Williams: 5 tackles (2 solo), 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 fumble recovery
John Franklin-Myers: 4 tackles (1 solo), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 sack
Quinton Jefferson: 3 tackles (2 solo), 3 QB hits, 2 sacks
Jordan Whitehead: 2 tackles (1 solo), 3 PD, 3 interceptions
Team Stats
First Downs: Bills 19, Jets 13
Passing First Downs: Bills 11, Jets 7
Rushing First Downs: Bills 8, Jets 5
First Downs from Penalties: Bills 0, Jets 1
3rd Downs: Bills 5/13, Jets 5/13
4th Downs: Bills 0/0, Jets 1/1
Total Yards: Bills 314, Jets 289
Yards Per Play: Bills 4.6, Jets 5.5
Passing Yards: Bills 217, Jets 117
Team Passing: Bills 29/41, Jets 14/22
Yards Per Pass: Bills 4.7, Jets 4.7
Sacks—Yards Lost: Bills 5—19 yards, Jets 3—23 yards
Rushing Yards: Bills 97, Jets 172
Rushing Attempts: Bills 22, Jets 28
Yards Per Rush: Bills 4.4, Jets 6.1
Red Zone: Bills 1/2, Jets 1/3
Penalties: Bills 5—40 yards, Jets 2—10 yards
Turnovers: Bills 4, Jets 1
Fumbles Lost: Bills 1, Jets 0
Interceptions Thrown: Bills 3, Jets 1
Possession: Bills 33:08, Jets 27:50
Miscellaneous
Venue: MetLife Stadium
Location: East Rutherford, NJ
Attendance: 83,345 (Capacity: 82,500)
Weather: Rainy, 68°F (60% chance of rain, dipped to 35% later)
Winds: Calm
Broadcast: ABC/ESPN/ESPN+/ESPN2
ABC/ESPN commentators: Joe Buck (PxP), Troy Aikman (color), Lisa Salters (reporter), John Parry (rules analyst)
ESPN2 Manningcast commentators: Peyton & Eli Manning (hosts), John McEnroe (guest), Ryan Fitzpatrick (guest)
Officiating crew: Carl Cheffers (referee), Brandon Cruse (umpire), Mike Carr (down judge), Tom Eaton (line judge), Nate Jones (field judge), Eugene Hall (side judge), Martin Hankins (back judge)
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