Jets vs. Bills: Score and Twitter Reaction for Thursday Night Football

A Rex Ryan-coached team built on defense and a strong running game escaped MetLife Stadium with a back-and-forth 22-17 victory. New York Jets fans are used to that.

Unfortunately for the Jets and their fans, Ryan was on the other sideline Thursday. His Buffalo Bills moved to 5-4 and into second place in the AFC East with the road win over their divisional rivals and Ryan's old team.

Here's the ecstatic coach in the aftermath:

True to Ryan's defense-first philosophy, Buffalo forced four turnovers—two of which came on Ryan Fitzpatrick interceptions—and even scored on special teams to set the tone.

Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor was far from spectacular with 158 passing yards and a score, but he didn't commit any turnovers and picked up another win. What's more, LeSean McCoy tallied 112 rushing yards and controlled the clock with 19 carries. ESPN Stats & Info noted that formula has proved successful this year:

As can be expected in a game featuring multiple turnovers and two quarterbacks who threw for fewer than 200 yards each, the first quarter was anything but pretty. New York established a 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, and ESPN Stats & Info described just how much the two offenses struggled: 

The offenses weren't much better in the second quarter, but Buffalo scored the game's first touchdown when Duke Williams scooped up Devin Smith's fumble on a kickoff return and took it to the house. Dan Carpenter missed the extra point, but the Bills held a 9-3 lead. The NFL shared the play:

Darryl Slater of the Star-Ledger pointed out why Smith returning kicks was a concern for the Jets:

Carpenter redeemed himself after the missed extra point with a 41-yard field goal in the final seconds of the quarter, meaning the Bills took a 12-3 lead into the locker room. Joe Buscaglia of WKBW in Buffalo realized the fast start was exactly what the Bills scripted in this matchup:

The Bills kept rolling in the second half when they marched 80 yards on their opening drive for a touchdown. Karlos Williams hauled in a 26-yard score to finish the possession, and NFL on CBS acknowledged the running back made some history in the process:

Sal Maiorana of the Democrat & Chronicle recognized the problem from New York's perspective:

Things continued to go downhill for the Jets when Chris Ivory fumbled on the first play of the ensuing possession. The Bills parlayed that into a field goal and a 22-3 lead, and the crowd was not pleased, as Dom Cosentino of the Star-Ledger described:

"

Jets getting showered with boos.

— dom cosentino (@domcosentino) November 13, 2015"

To New York's credit, the team bounced right back with a 80-yard drive of its own. Fitzpatrick found Brandon Marshall for a 14-yard score to help cut the lead to 22-10, although the Jets elected to kick the extra point rather than attempt a two-point conversion that could have made it a two-score game at 22-11.

Fitzpatrick made some history in the process, per ESPN's Trey Wingo:

Maiorana was not impressed with Buffalo's effort level on the drive:

The Jets got the ball back and drove deep into the Bills' territory early in the fourth quarter but elected to go for a 4th-and-2 instead of kick a field goal since they were down 12. However, they threw a screen to Marshall behind the line of scrimmage, and the Bills defense snuffed it out and killed New York's momentum.

Brian Costello of the New York Post summed up the thoughts of Jets fans after the play:

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report hearkened back to a previous poor decision during the sequence:

While many were frustrated with the Jets' decision-making, Bills cornerback Ronald Darby made an excellent open-field tackle to stop the play. Buffalo Bills PR noted it wasn't the only thing the rookie did on Thursday:

The game was far from over, though, and the Jets put together a 69-yard drive in the middle of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 22-17. Fitzpatrick connected with Eric Decker on a critical fourth-down play and found him once again in the end zone from 31 yards out. Slater praised the receiver's ability to make plays from the slot:

Connor Hughes of the Journal Inquirer highlighted Fitzpatrick's place in recent team history: 

Things took a turn for the worse for the Bills when they went three-and-out and were forced to punt on the next possession; however, punter Colton Schmidt could not handle the snap, and suddenly, the Jets had the ball inside the red zone with an opportunity to win the game. Slater described the proceedings:

Despite the incredible opportunity, the Jets did not take advantage. 

Three ineffective plays set them up for a 4th-and-4 from the 7-yard line, and Fitzpatrick lofted a pass to Kellen Davis in the end zone. Unfortunately for New York, Davis never saw the ball, and it fell harmlessly to the ground. The NFL passed along the play:

The Jets defense got the ball back for the offense one more time, but Fitzpatrick and Co. started with 24 seconds remaining and no timeouts from their own 36-yard line. The quarterback threw an interception on the first play of the drive, and the Bills escaped with a 22-17 victory.

What's Next?

The good news for the Jets is the road ahead gets much easier.

They face the Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys in the next five games. Those teams are a combined 15-26 on the season, which means New York has a golden opportunity to make a move as a squad still in the thick of the AFC Wild Card chase.

It needs to take advantage of the upcoming slate because a difficult finish awaits against the New England Patriots and at Buffalo.

The victorious Bills are also in the wild-card chase, but they face a more arduous upcoming schedule. Even though they were on the road on Thursday, four of their next five games are away from home. Included in that stretch are trips to New England and Philadelphia to battle the undefeated Patriots and a resurgent Eagles team that has won three of the last four.

Fortunately for Ryan's squad, it picked up some critical momentum and a head-to-head win against the Jets, but that final regular-season rematch back in Buffalo looms large in the postseason hunt.

Postgame Reaction

Discussion naturally turned to Ryan’s ability to come into New York and beat his old team after the game, especially from the Buffalo side.

The coach said he never heard the boos and that it felt weird to coach against his old squad, per Matthew Fairburn of Syracuse.com. He also acknowledged, “damn right, it feels great,” per Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com.

The coach did point out he took a step back early, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com: “Rex Ryan: This game had ‘jack s--t to do about me.’ That's why he stayed in for pregame warmups.”

Still, Ryan was not afraid to discuss the meaning of the win, per the NFL Network: “It's kinda like being dumped by a girl. Eventually, they'll call you back, but they can't get you back.”

Taylor also recognized the importance of the contest for his coach, per the Bills on Twitter: “We knew it was a big game for Rex, and we knew it was a big game for us. Good to get an away game win.”

Safety Bacarri Rambo, who turned in an incredible performance and forced two fumbles, recovered one and clinched the game with an interception, acknowledged it was critical to move above .500 in the AFC, per the Bills: “We knew this was a big game for the playoff race. We just came out here and played ball.”

As for the Jets, coach Todd Bowles talked about his decision to go for fourth down late in the game, per the Jets on Twitter: “We thought we could win it right there.”

New York could have won the game if Davis would have caught the pass in the end zone. The 30-year-old discussed his missed opportunity, per Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday: “No. I didn’t see the ball until it was already past me.”

Despite the back-and-forth contest that came down to the final seconds, there was another presence that arose after the game in Ryan’s press conference, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News: “As good as the Jets are, the best team is still the New England Patriots. So that's the one I'll always chase.”

It always circles back to New England in the AFC East.