First quarter

Theme: It was a weapons mismatch. The Buffalo Bills’ offense came out flying. The New York Jets’ offense looked lost.

One-sided: The Bills outgained the Jets, 123-23, and held a first-down edge of 10-1.

First drives: Both teams were held without points on their opening drives. The Bills were in scoring territory but Josh  fumbled at the Jets’ 19. The Bills scored on six of 17 opening drives last season, with two touchdowns and four field goals. The Jets scored on seven of 16 opening drives last year, with five TDs.

Key plays: Josh Allen scored on a 2-yard run and Zack Moss scored on a 4-yard run.

Key penalties: A 29-yard pass interference foul on Pierre Desir in coverage against John Brown helped set up the Bills’ second TD. Then late in the drive, the Bills faced a second-and-goal situation from the 9. Jets linebacker Tarell Basham jumped offside. That gave the Bills a much easier second and goal from the 4.

Puntapalooza: The Jets went three plays and out on each of their first three possessions. The Bills’ defense ranked second in the NFL last season in forcing three and outs.

Unsung: Levi Wallace made his 24th straight start for the Bills.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, fans were prohibited from attending the Buffalo Bills home opener against the New York Jets on Sept. 13, 2020.

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Second quarter

Theme: A good half that could have been great. If it weren’t for two red-zone fumbles, the Bills might have had 35 points in the first 30 minutes.

Key play: John Brown’s 17-yard catch and run for the third TD blew the game open.

No fly zone: When the Bills went up, 21-0, the Jets had amassed 55 yards in penalties and 23 yards in offense.

Matchup watch: Stefon Diggs and John Brown were too much for the Jets’ new No. 1 cornerback, Pierre Desir. With the score 21-0, the Jets benched Desir in favor of backup, fourth cornerback Nate Hairston. Desir had been called for two penalties in coverage and then gave up three catches in quick succession. Relying on Desir was a controversial move, given Indianapolis let him leave after last season.

All mixed up: Down 21-0, Sam Darnold took a delay of game penalty on the first play of the drive after a touchback and a television timeout. You don’t see that often.

Lopsided: The Bills outgained the Jets 223-102 and had a first-downs edge of 19-5. The Bills held the ball for 20:59.

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Third quarter

Theme: Keeping the Jets in the game.

Key play: Slot receiver Jamison Crowder scored on a 69-yard catch and run with a receiver screen pass. Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds missed a tackle on Crowder and appeared to suffer a shoulder injury on the play.

Two misses: Tyler Bass missed field-goal tries of 38 and 34 yards. The first attempt was wide right with 5:58 left in the quarter. It was a close call. The ball may have gone inside and over the top of the right upright but it was veering to the right and hit the net well wide of the post. The officials might have blown the call.

One full stop: The Bills marched deep into Jets territory on eight of their first nine possessions of the game. New York forced a three-and-out on the Bills’ first drive of the third quarter. That forced the lone punt by Corey Bojorquez.

Unsung: Bills return man Andre Roberts helped out field position all game. He had a 19-yard punt return and a 31-yard kickoff return in the third quarter. For the game, Roberts averaged 13.9 yards on five punt returns.

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Fourth quarter

Theme: All in all, a comfortable victory.

Key play: Jordan Poyer forced a fumble by tight end Chris Herndon on the second play of the quarter to set up the Bills at the Jets’ 38. It led to a 22-yard Tyler Bass field goal.

Zebra report: The officials took a lot of time, but they got the replay review of the fumble right. Herndon juggled it, pulled it in, tucked it under arm and started to spin out of the tackle before fumbling.

No. 3 all-time: Jets back Frank Gore played in his 227th career game, moving ahead of Emmitt Smith into the No. 3 spot all-time among running backs. Gore also is No. 3 on the NFL’s all-time yards from scrimmage list. He needs 733 yards to hit 20,000.

What a waste: Le’Veon Bell, the top-paid player on the Jets, got just eight touches and left in the third quarter with a sore hamstring.

Fourth-down call: With 3:18 left, Sean McDermott let Bass kick a 19-yard field goal rather than go for it on fourth down at the Jets’ 1. Good call. Try to build up the rookie’s confidence.

The series: The Bills lead the series 63-56. It was the 14th time the two teams met in a season opener.


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