Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets: Full Report Card Grades for New York
The New York Jets have officially hit rock bottom.
The Jets were embarrassed at MetLife Stadium by a mediocre Buffalo Bills team on Sunday afternoon, losing 43-23. And the score should have been much worse.
New York turned it over six times, allowed Kyle Orton to toss for four scores and had an energized stadium in complete silence midway through the third quarter.
After nearly beating the New England Patriots on the road a week ago, Gang Green floundered in the worst possible way, and there's no doubt that the team needs a lot more than Percy Harvin to become a contender.
Click through for grades for each Jets positional unit in the blowout defeat.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Geno Smith and Michael Vick combined to complete one of the most pathetic quarterback performances in recent memory.
Smith was indescribably bad in the first quarter, throwing three horrid interceptions on the team's first four drives. He was out of sync from the beginning, and he ended the day with more completions to the Bills than to his own team.
Michael Vick came in and inserted some life into the offense, even managing to get the team within a touchdown at the half.
However, the veteran signal-caller imploded in the second half, turning it over three times and basically handing the game to the Bills.
Both Smith and Vick are as mistake-prone as it gets, and neither is the answer at quarterback. It's more than likely that the Jets start afresh at the game's most important position once again this offseason.
Grade: F
Running Back
2 of 10
On paper, the Jets were dominant on the ground, totaling 175 rushing yards and three scores on 5.3 yards per carry.
In reality, New York's running game was in disarray for most of the afternoon.
The offensive line was constantly beaten off the ball, and the running backs failed to find much space.
Chris Ivory averaged just 3.3 yards per carry, while Chris Johnson managed a meager seven yards on three touches.
The Bills defensive front is one of the strongest in football, and it had its way with New York's offensive line for most of the day.
Grade: C
Wide Receiver/Tight End
3 of 10
The quarterback play was astoundingly bad, but the receiving corps didn't do much to help.
The receivers consistently failed to get open in the secondary, leaving their quarterback out to dry. It's been a problem over the course of the year, as players such as Jeremy Kerley and Jeff Cumberland simply aren't getting enough separation.
The Jets did everything they could to get Percy Harvin involved, but outside of a few decent gains, he was unable to do much.
Eric Decker is the only receiver on the team who can be trusted on a regular basis, but he can't do it alone. New York needs Kerley, Harvin and Jace Amaro to live up to their physical potential and begin having their way with opposing secondaries.
If they don't, it's hard seeing any quarterback succeeding in green and white.
Grade: C-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The offensive line continued its inconsistent ways, as it followed up a dominating performance against the Patriots with an awful showing on Sunday.
The line was physically dominated by Buffalo's elite defensive front, giving up four sacks and six quarterback hits, while allowing consistent pressure on its quarterback.
Nick Mangold and Co. also failed to get any push in the running game for the majority of the afternoon, and they were responsible for several backbreaking penalties.
Gang Green is a team that needs to win in the trenches to be successful, but the offensive line continues to disappoint.
Grade: D+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The defensive line was far from awful, despite giving up 43 points.
Muhammad Wilkerson and Co. allowed just 67 yards on 32 carries, good for a paltry 2.1 yards per touch. Granted, the Bills were without both Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, but it was an impressive performance nonetheless.
The Sons of Anarchy also did a decent job getting pressure on Kyle Orton throughout the afternoon, even if their pressure didn't do much to prevent the quarterback from having a big day.
It wasn't a terrific day from this unit, but it managed to keep the team in the game for the first 40 minutes despite the offense's inability to hang on to the football.
For that, it should be given some credit.
Grade: B+
Linebacker
6 of 10
The linebacker corps put together a solid performance just like the defensive line, even if the scoreboard says otherwise.
Demario Davis and David Harris were tackling machines once again, racking up a combined 18 tackles and contributing heavily to the team's shutdown run defense.
However, the real standouts were the outside linebackers. After several quiet weeks, Quinton Coples and Calvin Pace put together a superb day, totaling two sacks, three quarterback hits and multiple pressures.
New York hasn't gotten much pass-rush production out of its linebacker corps this season, but that was far from the case on Sunday.
If Coples and Pace can string together performances like that, the linebacker corps may be able to compete with the defensive line in terms of dominance.
Grade: B+
Secondary
7 of 10
While the front seven was solid, the back end of the defense was unsurprisingly the weak spot.
Blown coverages have become a staple of the secondary, and that was the case again on Sunday.
The team allowed two huge gains to rookie wideout Sammy Watkins. The first went for 84 yards and led to a Bills score, while the other was good for a 61-yard touchdown.
Antonio Allen was dreadful in coverage yet again, as he was roasted on numerous occasions. It's become clear that the South Carolina product cannot play cornerback.
In all, the secondary allowed Kyle Orton to rack up 238 yards and four touchdowns, and the veteran quarterback attempted just 17 passes.
Gang Green has now given up 20 passing touchdowns through the first half of the year, while recording just one interception.
Serious changes have to be coming in the secondary.
Grade: D-
Special Teams
8 of 10
Nick Folk drilled an impressive 55-yard field goal against the wind, but that's about all the good that came out of the special teams units.
Percy Harvin had just one explosive return, and he often failed to break the 20 after taking it out of the end zone. It was clear that the former Super Bowl standout was trying to do too much in a futile attempt to make an impact.
The Jets tried to get creative in the return game in the third quarter, but it resulted in disaster. The team had a player lie down in the end zone so Harvin could throw him the football in open space.
However, the Bills sniffed out the play, and Harvin was tackled inside the 5-yard line.
Ryan Quigley was also subpar, as he had several short punts that put the Bills offense in terrific field position.
Grade: C-
Coaching
9 of 10
This embarrassing loss doesn't fall as much on the coaching staff's shoulders as it does on those of the players, as their poor execution was the main reason for the defeat.
Rex Ryan actually did a great job with his defense to keep the team in the game for the majority of the contest, despite an astounding six turnovers from his offense.
Marty Mornhinweg's play-calling also wasn't terrible. He attempted to stretch the field to prevent the Bills from stacking the box, but neither Smith nor Vick was able to make the necessary throws.
Nonetheless, the coaching staff will probably bear most of the ire for this defeat, and the loss might have been the final straw that leads to Ryan's dismissal.
Grade: C
Cumulative Grade
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| QB | F |
| RB | C |
| WR/TE | C- |
| OL | D+ |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | B+ |
| Secondary | D- |
| Special Teams | C- |
| Coaching | C |
Cumulative Grade: D
The Jets lost this game because of their quarterbacks' inability to protect the football. It's that simple.
Yes, the offensive line was subpar and the secondary was a liability, but New York still had every chance to beat the Bills even with those flaws.
Geno Smith handed Buffalo a two-touchdown lead with his three-interception first quarter, and Michael Vick tied a bow around it with his three second-half turnovers.
Gang Green has a lot of flaws all over the roster, but it's clear its biggest issue is quarterback.
Today probably marked the end of Geno Smith's tenure as the franchise signal-caller, and it couldn't have finished on an uglier note.
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