The Bills beat the Jets 23-20 the first time the two teams played in 2024 and the first half of Sunday’s game in Buffalo was relatively close, but things got out of hand in second half.
After taking a 12-0 lead in the opening 30 minutes, the Bills scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and added a fourth after emptying the bench to stretch their lead to 40-0. The Jets scored a couple of late touchdowns to make the final score 40-14, but the end result was another ugly day in a Jets season that didn’t come close to reaching preseason expectations.
Cornerback Sauce Gardner said after the game that he wasn’t sure “embarassing” was the right word for an effort that left him questioning how invested everyone on the roster is at this point in the year.
“If you ask me, that means it’s like the end of the season. Obviously, we’re not going to the playoffs, some people might be checked out,” Gardner said in video from the team. “That’s just me going off speculation.
Gardner went on to suggest that there have been similar issues all season.
“We enhanced our roster in all areas, so that just tells me we can’t be playing as a team,” Gardner said. “We’re probably just individuals because I know last year and the year before, you know, we had a roster that wasn’t as talented as this roster but we found ways to beat the Bills, found ways to win. So, what’s stopping that now with a more talented roster?”
That’s one of many questions for the Jets to answer as they head into an offseason that will see them hire a new coach and General Manager that they hope can bring the kind of results that eluded them this time around.
