Bills' TNF Win over Jets Tells Tale of Rex Ryan's Playoff Past and Future

Rex Ryan got his revenge against his former team Thursday night—by out-Jets-ing the New York Jets.

In doing so, Ryan's Buffalo Bills demonstrated that they have adopted the personality of their boisterous head coach. Run the ball. Play defense. Win the close one.

It's a philosophy that Ryan rode to a pair of AFC Championship Game appearances with Gang Green. The problem is, Ryan's Bills also have many of the same shortcomings of those Jets teams.

And while the 22-17 road win gets the Bills right back into the AFC wild-card hunt, it also showed that a postseason trip will be a short one.

Heading into Thursday night's AFC East showdown, some chucklehead here at Bleacher Report wrote that the Bills faced a tough road against the Jets' top-ranked run defense:

"

No team in the entire National Football League allows fewer yards per game on the ground than the Jets at 80.6. The team ranks first in weighted run defense per the advanced metrics at Football Outsiders, and fourth overall.

As if that wasn't problem enough, starting tailback LeSean McCoy is nursing a shoulder injury, one that Ryan admitted could limit him in the game.

Yes, McCoy is listed as probable and will likely play. Yes, in youngster Karlos Williams the Bills have a very capable backup for McCoy.

No, the team can't count on being able to move the ball consistently on the ground against the Jets.

"

What...a...hack.

Someone apparently forgot to tell McCoy and the Bills that they wouldn't be able to run the ball against New York. As a team the Bills racked up 148 yards on the ground. McCoy accounted for 112 of them, chipping in another 47 yards on five catches.

Williams, on the other hand, made himself a bit of NFL history with his 26-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter:

The Bills defense was also solid. Buffalo forced four turnovers, turnovers that the Bills converted into 13 points. The Bills also sacked Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick three times.

Not surprisingly, the former head coach of the Jets and current head coach of the Bills was pleased (per the NFL Network's postgame show) while speaking with reporters after the game:

"

God, you were never comfortable, obviously, and we just had to keep fighting and that's what we did as a team. So I'm extremely proud of my team, and like I said it took every man.

Pretty satisfying. Without question it's definitely satisfying. You know what? Now I can tell the truth. This thing's kind of like...I look at it kind of like getting dumped by some girl you had the hots for...that's really what it feels like. And you know, you move on. And every now and then they call you back. But they can't have you back.

"

Never change, Rex.

Where Ryan had running backs Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene in New York, now he has McCoy and Williams. Where he once had linebacker David Harris, Ryan now has Preston Brown. Where Ryan once had corners Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, now he has Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby.

The uniform may be different, but his team and its personality are still very much the same.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Of course, that's partly the problem. Because where Ryan once had Mark Sanchez at quarterback, he now has Tyrod Taylor.

This isn't to say Taylor hasn't been effective, at least in the only way that matters. The fifth-year pro has started seven games for the Bills in 2015. Buffalo has won five of those games.

The thing is, the Bills didn't win because of Taylor. They won in spite of him.

Yes, at first glance Taylor's stats on the evening don't look bad at all. Seventeen completions in 27 attempts and 158 yards. That touchdown to Williams. No interceptions.

But the Jets did a good job of limiting Taylor on the ground (12 yards), and with wide receiver Sammy Watkins marooned on Revis Island to the tune of three catches for 14 yards, Taylor's limitations as a passer clearly impacted the Bills offense.

Which is to say that in the second half the Bills didn't have one.

For most of the third quarter and well into the fourth, the Bills managed exactly zero first downs. Four straight three-and-outs let the Jets cut a 22-3 lead to 22-17. Then disaster struck in the form of a botched snap on a punt:

Were it not for a highly questionable fourth-down decision by New York head coach Todd Bowles and some clock-killing runs by McCoy, the Bills easily could have squandered a 19-point lead and dropped below .500.

They didn't, though, and at 5-4, if the season ended Thursday, the Bills would be in the playoffs. And just making the postseason would be a huge achievement for a team nursing the longest playoff drought in the NFL.

Many would view ending that drought as a wildly successful debut season for Ryan in Western New York.

However, that's about as good as things are going to get for these Bills. Just as it's always been as good as things have ever gotten for Ryan. Eventually his Jets teams ran into more complete clubs that exposed New York's limitations offensively.

We've already seen it happen to Ryan's Bills this year in losses to the undefeated New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals. And it will probably happen again when the Bills take the field in Foxborough next week.

There's much to celebrate in Buffalo. The Bills are a good football team again. Good enough to make the playoffs. Maybe even good enough to win a game, especially if they win the wild-card lottery that is drawing the AFC South "champion" in Round 1.

But while the jerseys are blue instead of green and the logos are different, in more than a few respects, Ryan's Bills are Ryan's Jets.

Not quite good enough.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter, @IDPSharks.