A weather warning went out around Meadowlands on Monday afternoon. Fans were told to expect powerful winds. They were advised to look after their grills and hang on to their tents. They ought to have been warned: hold on to your hats, too.
But who could have forecast this? Who could have predicted how this night would unfold? Who would have thought two stuttering offenses would produce such an electric first half that blew this way and that?
Who would have thought – at halftime, with the game so brilliantly poised – that this would descend into a tedious festival of flags?
Who would have assumed that a game which saw two kicks bounce off the upright – and two more miss altogether – would ultimately be decided by a field goal?
At the end of it all, the Bills condemned the Jets to a 20-17 defeat and a new era in New York began with yet more frustration.
Aaron Rodgers threw a late interception as the Jets were beaten by the Buffalo Bills
In the first game under interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich and new play-caller Todd Downing, the Jets had little problem moving the ball.
Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles survived more than four snaps and he passed for 294 yards – more than any other game this season. He threw for two touchdowns – including a remarkable 52-yard Hail Mary to Allen Lazard that prevented this night from slipping away from New York before half-time.
Rodgers has denied suggestions that he played a part in the firing of Robert Saleh. What those allegations always ignored? Other quarterbacks can have their say in the Jets’ future, too. And when this game hit crunch time, Josh Allen succeeded where Rodgers failed.
With less than four minutes on the clock – as the Jets trailed by three points – Rodgers took the ball. He moved New York 10 yards down the field. And then he threw an interception.
Moments later, with the game in his hands and the Bills at 3rd and four, Allen rushed for the first down that settled this game.
By then, MetLife Stadium was virtually empty. The Jets are now 2-4; the Bills have a two-win cushion at the top of the AFC East.
