The Buffalo Bills closed the chapter at Highmark Stadium with a win against the New York Jets on Sunday in Week 18. Buffalo beat New York 35-8.
The Bills started off hot. After quarterback Josh Allen and running back James Cook III exited the game, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and running back Ray Davis drove the offense down the field into the red zone.
At New York’s 47-yard-line, Davis found the outside along the right sideline and accelerated for a 17-yard pickup on first-and-10. On his next carry, Davis avoided a tackle and powered forward for nine yards. Finishing off the drive following running back Ty Johnson’s two touches, tight end Dawson Knox barely pushed off his defender, easily making his way into the end zone. Trubisky sent the ball deep into the right corner, hitting Knox for a 17-yard score.
The defense kept Buffalo up 7-0, forcing a three-and-out supported by a too many men on the field penalty called on the Jets on third-and-five.
On the Bills’ next scoring drive after holding the Jets’ offense off a second time, Johnson had a chunk play on third-and-20. After Trubisky handed him the ball, Johnson dove forward at the end of his run for an extra few yards. While it was only a 14-yard gain, six yards short of the first down in New York territory, safety Keidron Smith was called for a face mask penalty. This gave the Bills another chance at a touchdown, moving to the 12-yard-line after the effects of the penalty.
Johnson received the direct snap on third-and-five, heading right with his eyes set on the front corner of the end zone. He just made it past the goal line in bounds, but his run was good for a six-yard score. Buffalo took a 14-0 lead at the start of the second quarter. Johnson also had a receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Jets overcame two consecutive drives going three-and-out, but their success in gaining a fresh set of downs wasn’t sustained.
After picking up eight yards and bringing up another third down following that conversion, running back Khalil Herbert only picked up one of the two yards necessary for a fresh set of downs. Going for it on fourth-and-one, quarterback Brady Cook chucked the ball to the left in hopes of a receiver being able to haul it in.
The unsuccessful attempt put Buffalo in prime field position near midfield.
Wide receiver Gabe Davis had his first grab of the game, picking up 18 yards and sparking an already-hot offense. Fullback Reggie Gilliam also had his time to shine as a pass catcher. Despite defensive tackle Quincy Williams on his back and nearing the edge of the field, Gilliam hauled in the pass in bounds for 22 yards.
Trubisky sent a pass over to Gabe Davis again with the ball just sweeping by a lineman’s helmet and arm from the Jet’s eight-yard-line. Gabe Davis completed the catch for six yards and Ray Davis ended the drive with a two-yard touchdown. He had 21 carries for 151 yards and two catches for 23 yards and one receiving touchdown by the end of Sunday’s matchup.
Out of halftime, the Jets still couldn’t overcome the Bills’ defense. Cornerback Maxwell Hairston stopped wide receiver Isaiah Williams at the line of scrimmage, bringing up third-and-five. Though Williams advanced on his next catch, he was stopped inches short of the line of gain. Opting to go for it on fourth down, Buffalo’s defense put up a wall and forced a turnover on downs. Defensive end A.J. Epenesa was credited with the tackle.
The Bills’ offense capitalized on this turnover. Ray Davis overcame the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Epenesa picked up in between downs with a 14-yard run on the first play of the drive. Trubisky handled the next snap, scrambling for nine yards and giving the ball to fullback Reggie Gilliam to get the first down on the following play. Trubisky was nearly picked off on second-and-six on the next set of downs, and quickly redeemed himself with a nine-yard completion to Gabe Davis. He then connected with wide receiver Keon Coleman, who logged his first catch of the day. Coleman caught the ball just in front of the end zone, picking up 12 yards.
On fourth-and-goal, Gabe Davis leaped and turned his body toward the right, grabbing the ball over a defender’s head and completing the touchdown pass. The Bills added another two points to their score as Trubisky targeted Coleman, who hugged the ball into his shoulder and tapped his feet inside the end zone before falling forward and out of bounds.
Coleman had another huge play for Buffalo, though the drive didn’t end in a score. From the Bills’ 32-yard-line, Trubisky hit Coleman on a 19-yard pass. The wide receiver turned around and sprinted forward for an additional 18 yards after the catch.
New York’s only scoring drive of the game finished with over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Cook connected with fullback Andrew Beck in the front right corner of the end zone. Beck caught the pass and put the Jets’ first points of the game on the board. A successful two-point conversion to wide receiver Quentin Skinner bumped their score up to eight.
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