Bills 40-14 Jets (December 29, 2024) Game Recap

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen reflected on Buffalo’s many offseason critics and doubters when asked if the Bills had reached their latest milestones while beating the disjointed and undisciplined 40-14 New York Jets secured the AFC’s No. 2 seed Sunday.

It was the Bills quarterback’s “I told you so” moment, even if Allen chose not to use those exact words.

“It speaks to the personnel we have here, the people we have in this locker room, the makeup of this team and the culture we have,” Allen said. “We didn’t really pay attention to preseason performances, but we heard them and saw them and knew what people were saying.

“But it had no impact on us.”

Well, that might be a challenge when it comes to motivation.

What is indisputable is how Allen and the Bills (13-3) overcame a young, ragtag roster after the offseason departure of six of eight team captains – including Stefon Diggs, who left for Houston – to win their fifth AFC East title and – Back-to-back wins secured a franchise-best 13 games for the fifth time in team history and the third time since 2020.

Coach Sean McDermott left no doubt as to who deserved the most credit for leading the Bills to the playoffs for the sixth straight season and helping them set single-season franchise records for points (509) and touchdowns ( 63) to set up.

“I think Josh Allen continues to show why he should be MVP,” McDermott said. “I’ve been in this league long enough to know that I’ve seen MVP every year for many years. And what he’s done on this team and this organization in this community — and it’s not an insult to anyone else — but I find it hard to believe anyone has done more.”

Allen threw two touchdown passes and went for another score. He became the first player in the NFL to score 40 touchdowns in five consecutive seasons.

He did this in a game where Buffalo blew the game open by taking advantage of two Jets turnovers in the closing minutes of the third quarter and scoring three touchdowns in a 5:01 span. Buffalo’s defense forced a total of three takeaways and sacked Aaron Rodgers four times, including a 2-yard loss for a safety in the second quarter.

Nothing went right in a comedy of errors for Rodgers and the Jets (4-12). New York will finish with five or fewer wins for the seventh time in a 14-year playoff drought – the NFL’s longest active streak.

“It’s a bit like the season, it just got away from us. “Too many plays got away from us,” said Rodgers, who finished 12 of 18 for 112 yards and two interceptions before being withdrawn in favor of Tyrod Taylor and Buffalo leading 40-0. “We moved the ball well and then we just hit a wall. And that was the season, so to speak.”

Rodgers, who entered the game with 499 career TD passes and was looking to become just the fifth player to reach 500, was instead ejected and became the NFL’s most sacked quarterback. The 41-year-old has now been sacked 568 times, putting him ahead of Tom Brady (565) and in first place on the career list.

Taylor accounted for all of New York’s points, with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson and a 20-yarder to Tyler Conklin.

Discipline has been an issue for a Jets team that fell to 2-9 since Jeff Ulbrich took over as interim coach. New York finished the game with 16 accepted penalties for 120 yards.

“It’s frustrating, it’s embarrassing, it’s crazy. That’s all,” said Ulbrich.

Allen had a short and efficient outing, finishing 16 of 27 for 182 yards with a 30-yard TD pass to Amari Cooper and a 14-yarder to Keon Coleman before giving way to backup Mitchell Trubisky, with Buffalo over three quarters led 33-0. And Trubisky continued, completing a 69-yard touchdown pass to Tyrell Shavers with 2:23 left in the fourth quarter.

Shavers became the 13th Bills player to catch a touchdown pass, tying the NFL single-season record, validating Allen’s “everyone eats” mantra and the offense that was the norm this season .

The Bills defense put on a dominating performance, managing to cap off a shaky three-game stretch in which they allowed a combined 1,357 yards, 86 first downs and 107 points.

“I wouldn’t say it’s necessary … and I don’t want to say reassurance either,” said AJ Epenesa, who released Rodgers for safety reasons. “But it just shows that we can do this and that this is the standard that needs to be met.”

Milestones

Allen’s 1-yard score was the 65th rushing TD of his career, tying Thurman Thomas’ team record. … James Cook scored his 15th rushing TD of the season on a 4-yard run, one shy of the Bills’ single-season record set by OJ Simpson in a 14-game season in 1975. Cook was tied with Allen, who scored 15 last year. … Wilson reached 1,000 receiving yards early in his career for the third consecutive time, becoming the first Jets player to do so and the tenth player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.

Next

Jets: Finish the season hosting the Miami Dolphins.

Bills: Play their regular season finale at the New England Patriots.

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