Bills kick their way out of losing skid
Franchise-record six field goals enough to beat winless Jets
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The end zone was elusive for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
So, they relied on Tyler Bass’s busy leg — and the ineptitude of the winless New York Jets’ offence — to pull out an 18-10 victory Sunday.
The Bills were held without a touchdown for the first time this season, but Bass tied a franchise record with six field goals to help Buffalo snap a twogame skid.
“We have to find ways to finish in the end zone,” Allen said.
“It has to be better on my part. A couple penalties pushed us back and put us in a bad position. Shout-out to T-bass for making those field goals and getting us the win.”
It was the third game in 13 days for the Bills (5-2), who lost to Tennessee and Kansas City before coming through against the league-worst Jets (0-7).
“It was rough today, but we got the W,” running back Devin Singletary said. “Just got to get back to the drawing board.”
The Bills fell behind 10-0 early and couldn’t finish in the red zone, finishing 0 for 5 inside the 20. The victory was their first without getting a touchdown since they beat Washington 1716 in 2007 on a safety and five field goals by Rian Lindell.
It was also the first time the Jets lost without giving up a touchdown since a 9-6 loss to the Rams in 2016, which was Jeff Fisher’s last win as an NFL head coach.
Bass booted a 40-yarder with 1:56 left after also making kicks of 53, 48, 46, 37 and 29 yards. He missed from 45 and 37 yards, but made enough to tie Steve Christie’s team mark set against New York in 1996.
“In the end, he won us the game, along with our defence,” centre Mitch Morse said. “It’s a tough deal to go out there and have to put up that many points with your leg.”
New York had a chance late after Micah Hyde was called for an unnecessary hit on Breshad Perriman, who appeared unconscious for a few moments and was being evaluated for a concussion after the game.
The penalty put the ball at the Jets 32. But Sam Darnold was intercepted by Jerry Hughes on a tipped pass to seal it.
“We started seeing more plays and how they were trying to attack us,” safety Jordan Poyer said, “so we were able to settle down.”
The Jets dropped to 0-7 for the first time since the 1996 team opened 0-8 en route to a 1-15 season.
“We’ll never separate or divide,” linebacker Tarell Basham insisted.
New York coach Adam Gase said the team was looking for anything that might help it get a victory. So he handed off playcalling duties on offence to coordinator Dowell Loggains — and it seemed to give the Jets an early spark.
But it was back to the brutal struggles in the second half when they got just 4 total yards.
“They made some good adjustments,” Darnold said. “We just have to adjust to their adjustments. I have to throw accurate footballs. That’s it.”