Seen and Herd: Week Six, Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets

How about this past weekend. It was surely a wacky one.

My apologies on the late post of my weekly column, but I'm a day behind because of the "travel day." I was in NYC for the game, and folks, if you can make the trip, get to McFadden's Bills Backers Bar. It's nuts.

Yes, even writers sometimes need an extra day after travel, not just the players.

Anyhow, the Buffalo Bills pulled off an astonishing road win in overtime against the rival New York Jets, riding an astonishing six interception performance to victory.

Yes, six. It hasn't happened since 1967.

One of the interceptions was thrown by the punter, who was the holder for a botched field goal in overtime, but I'll take the five legitimate picks any Sunday.

Ugly?

That's been the buzz word following the game that featured a whopping eight turnovers. Ugly? It was beautiful if you ask me.

I understand the idea many have that "the Jets did everything they could to lose," or "the Bills were handed a gift." But let's really focus the scenario here.

The Bills intercepted starter Mark Sanchez five times.

They did give up 318 yards rushing, but 150 of those yards came on two Thomas Jones home runs.

They shut out the Jets in the second half.

The Bills lost their starter (whether you like him or not, Edwards is more talented than Ryan Fitzpatrick) early in the second quarter, and their back-up led the team to 13 points and the victory, although he didn't have a great statistical game (10 of 25, 116 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT).

These are facts.

Close your eyes for a second and imagine if everything stated above happened to the Bills.

They get intercepted five times. They rush for 318, but get shut out in the second half, and allow the Jets to win in comeback fashion with their second-string quarterback.

No one would call that ugly. The national media would praise Rex Ryan and destroy the Bills, furthering our embarrassment as fans. In fact, the local media here in Buffalo would tear apart the team, especially Dick Jauron and Trent Edwards.

The Jets did commit 14 penalties, some in timely situations, which is what some of the "gift-wrapped game" is based on, but if the Bills committed that many, you wouldn't hear that the Bills handed the Jets anything.

It's just that fans have been so distraught for so many years, even a solid road win isn't good enough.

No, this win doesn't catapult the Bills into the playoff hunt, but give the team some credit for their most recent victory.

People hate to use cliches, but why not throw one in here. A win, is a win, is a win.

The Bills have lost much uglier in the past three seasons, let alone in their history.

No T.O. No problem

Terrell Owens was again a non-factor in the Meadowlands. He caught a mere three passes for 13 yards, but did draw a few pass interference/illegal hands down field penalties against the Jets lock-down corner, Darelle Revis.

Lee Evans had his best day of the year. He complied 68 yards on four catches, including the game tying touchdown late in the third quarter.

When you think about it, and this may be a stretch, but for as bad as the offense has been, they've given the team the chance to win four ball games thus far. A Roscoe Parrish fumble, and a Leodis McKelvin kick return are what separate the Bills from a flip-flopped 4-2 record.

What I'm saying is the only place the Bills offense can go is up.

We haven't seen anything nearing a 100 yard performance from either Lee Evans or Terrell Owens, and yet, the Bills have been in four contests, none of which their offense has lost for them late.

With all that said, I'm still ticked about the Browns game. Probably more than anyone.

Continuity on the Line

Entering the Week Six game against the Jets, many believed the poor offensive line play would reach it's lowest point.

Wrong. The fifth different combination of lineman produced one of the best showings this season. 

Jamon Meredith, who was labeled along with Shawn Nelson , as a draft steal this April was impressively smooth adjusting to the never-before-seen speed of the NFL. The false starts were limited, and for the most part, the offensive line stood tall against the over-hyped "vaunting" Jets defensive front, and aggressive blitz packages.

One word for the Bills coaching staff: Continuity. They should know it well. It was the main reason Dick Jauron was extended this past offseason, and same thing goes for the offensive line.

The young guys aren't going to get better playing alongside someone different every week.

No, offense to Johnathon Scott, but I'm calling for Jamon Meredith to remain at right tackle.

It'll only get better from here.

Byrd Man

Jairus Byrd is not only living up to his pre-draft hype, but to me, he's exceeding expectations.

Not only is he tied for third in the NFL in interceptions, but all of his picks have been of the acrobatic/extremely athletic variety.

He's got more interceptions in four professional starts than Donte Whitner does in his entire career.

Sorry for the burn, Donte. We're glad you're back.

Returnees

Along with Whitner, his fellow defensive leader Paul Posluszny returned.  Despite allowing the second most running yards in team history, the presence of the two defensive stand-outs was certainly felt. The command they have as far as communication on defense is imperative if this group improves down the stretch.

Looking Ahead...

After many believed the season was in as much trouble as the Balloon Boy family, a glimmer of hope was uncovered Sunday.

Sunday's tilt against a mediocre Carolina Panthers team is officially the make-or-break game of the year.

You never, ever, know in the National Football League.

Bills/Panthers 4:05 Sunday. Seen and Herd to follow.