ClutchPoints
The optimism in East Rutherford lasted exactly one week. After showing flashes of life in their season opener, the New York Jets were utterly dismantled by the Buffalo Bills in Week 2. The Jets fell 30-10 at MetLife Stadium. It was a collapse that left fans frustrated, players shaken, and coaches scrambling for answers. The Jets just looked completely unprepared for the physicality and execution of divisional football.
The Jets were thrashed by the Bills in Week 2, falling to 0-2 on the season. Buffalo’s victory was fueled by a dominant rushing attack, led by James Cook’s 132 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Jets’ offense was abysmal. They produced only 154 total yards and failed to convert a single third down on 11 attempts.
What unfolded was one of the most embarrassing showings in recent memory. After a competitive Week 1 performance offered a glimmer of hope, the Jets quickly fell back into familiar misery. Justin Fields looked overwhelmed, the defense was repeatedly gashed, and the coaching staff seemed completely out of its depth. Yes, a handful of players turned in respectable efforts. That said, the overwhelming majority of performances were disappointing at best.
Here we’ll try to look at and discuss the New York Jets most to blame after crashing down to Earth in Week 2 loss to Bills.
Fields deserves much of the blame for Sunday’s disaster. One week removed from arguably the best game of his NFL career, Fields followed it up with what may have been the worst. He completed just three of 11 passes for 27 yards before leaving the game with a concussion early in the fourth quarter. By nearly every metric, it was a catastrophic outing. In fact, he finished with -0.58 EPA per attempt, the lowest mark of his career.
Fields looked uncomfortable from the opening drive. He held onto the ball too long and failed to generate anything resembling rhythm. The Jets’ offense never found traction. They didn’t even cross the 100-yard mark until late in the fourth quarter. With Fields now in concussion protocol, the Jets are staring at both immediate uncertainty and long-term concerns.
Head coach Aaron Glenn didn’t sugarcoat the loss.
“Apparently, I didn’t have the guys ready to play… It’s not OK to lose like that,” he told reporters postgame.
It was an honest admission, but it felt like déjà vu for Jets fans who have heard variations of the same speech over the last decade.
The reality is Glenn and his staff were thoroughly outclassed. Steve Wilks’ defensive scheme has looked confused through two weeks. On offense, the Jets failed to adjust even as it became clear nothing was working. The Bills dictated every phase of the game, while the Jets looked like a team still searching for its identity. Glenn may have owned the loss, but ownership won’t mean much if this trend...
