The AFC East is wide open. For the first time in a number of years any one of three teams could take this division, and so divisional matchups, like this one, have that added bit of flavor to them.

Ultimately the Jets ended up with a pretty comfortable victory and, coupled with the Patriots dropping a game to the Giants, leaves three sides atop the division with a 5-3 record. The score wasn’t particularly close, and if anything it flattered Buffalo, but there were some interesting things to take from this game, and performances we can focus on.

The Jets D looked a lot more like we expect them to look under Rex Ryan, while their offense was able to run the ball far more effectively. In this game they looked far more like the team of the past couple of seasons, and it’s no coincidence that the victory owed much to that. As for the Bills, they struggled at times on offense and Ryan Fitzpatrick had a game he would rather forget with some poor decisions that resulted in turnovers. You get that with Fitzpatrick and it wasn’t something Buffalo could overcome, yet they’ll have to soon. Time will answer that, but now let’s look at some of the standout displays.

New York – Three Performances of Note

Dominant in the Center

That pun is obviously a nod towards Nick Mangold (+3.6) whose dominant run blocking was a big reason the Jets were able to control the clock and succeed with play action passes. The Jets were also dominant in the center on the other side of the ball, with Sione Pouha (+3.0) matching Mangold for the defense. Neither player has been at their best this season, but both have an exceptional ability to control a man at the line of scrimmage. For a player of his size, Pouha also gets down the line quickly when he reads the point of attack. A great example of this was in the third quarter with 10:10 to go when he was able to make his way down the line and tackle Fred Jackson the ball carrier, putting his helmet on the ball and forcing the fumble.

Challenging Revis

The Bills came into this game saying they were not going to shy away from Darrelle Revis (+1.6), that they wouldn’t forget about Stevie Johnson. They didn’t exactly go after him, but they didn’t completely shy away from him either, with some interesting results. Revis was targeted six times, giving up three completions for 84 yards, getting his hands to two passes to break them up in the process. The 52-yard play to Johnson down the right sideline was by far the worst Revis has been beaten all season in man-coverage, and he was only beaten by a yard – the missed tackle at the end of the catch was what allowed some significant YAC. Revis was also beaten by a back shoulder throw late in the game that required an impressive adjustment from Johnson to keep his feet in and a slant play earlier in the game that went for just six yards. His PDs came on a slant play early in the game (perhaps the reason the Bills took nearly two full quarters to try again), and on a pass to Fred Jackson after receivers crossed in front of him. A bad day for Revis, but one most cornerbacks would take every Sunday of they year

Failing to set the edge

Muhammad Wilkerson (-2.9) is filling some pretty big shoes left by Shaun Ellis, and by and large he has been doing so pretty well. Against the Bills however, he routinely failed to get outside of the run and turn it back inside, being blocked inside too easily and regularly by Chad Reinhart (+3.0), the Bills LG. His poor grade was compounded by a play at the two minute warning in the first half when he was able to beat his man inside, only to then miss a tackle on the running back on 3rd-and-1. Wilkerson can and will play better than this, but this will be a game he spends time on in the film-room.

Buffalo: Three Performances of Note

Terrence McGee boosting the secondary with his return, or harming it?

Usually when a team gets an injured player back it’s a boost and an upgrade to the unit he returns to. After all, he was a starter over the player who replaced him so it only makes sense that would be the case. But Terrence McGee (-3.4) has been injured a lot, and that takes its toll on a player eventually. Maybe now is that time, maybe this was just a poor game from him, but McGee was unable to deal with the Jets’ receivers. He was thrown at seven times; allowing six catches and being flagged for a penalty for defensive pass interference. He gave up a reception to four different receivers, but struggled the most with the two Jets starting WRs, giving up 53 of the 69 yards he allowed to them.

Fish out of water, or guard playing tackle

A guard playing tackle usually doesn’t end particularly well either for the player himself or the offense which has been forced to make that move. Andy Levitre (-1.1) however is actually playing reasonably there for the Bills. Levitre gave up a pair of pressures in this game and was flagged for holding on one additional pass play when he was beaten. All three of those plays came against former Bill Aaron Maybin, who has a clear and distinct speed advantage over Levitre. Those plays aside, he did well, and easily held his own out on the edge protecting the quarterback’s blindside. The only real down side for Levitre is that he was having an All-Pro season at guard before the Bills were forced to make the move to tackle, and the weeks he’s covering that spot are weeks he’s missing out at guard.

The tale of two linebackers

If I were to tell you the Bills had linebackers grading out at +1.9 and -3.1, I bet you would expect the positive grade to go to Nick Barnett who has been excellent in the for the bills this season, and Kelvin Sheppard to draw the negative. You would of course be wrong, as Barnett had a rare stinker in this game, missing three tackles and being sucked into the line of scrimmage away from the point of attack on a couple of occasions. Sheppard didn’t have an amazing game but recorded three defensive stops from his four tackles, beating blockers to make tackles near the line of scrimmage on a pair of plays in the middle of the second quarter.

Game Notes

- What kind of offense do the Bills run? Their FB, Corey McIntyre saw just two snaps in this game.

- With 1:17 to go in the 2nd quarter the Jets dumped the ball off to Tomlinson on 3rd-and-15. Josh Baker got through to the second level and sprung Tomlinson for another ten yards by taking out two players with one block. Great play.

- Ryan Fitzpatrick completed just 50% of his aimed passes. He had been on a streak of three games at over 70% of total pass attempts.

PFF Game Ball

Nick Mangold was back to his best and opening holes for the Jets’ runners all day. He’ll be looking to get back to the top of our center rankings.

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