Week 18: Bills 27, Jets 10
At Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park
Plays of the game: Josh Allen scrambled for 32 yards to the Jets 19-yard line, then rolled right and found Isaiah McKenzie for nine yards on third and 6. Moments later, Devin Singletary scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Buffalo Bills a 20-10 lead with about 8 1/2 minutes to play, providing breathing room and setting off a celebration.
For the record: Bills (11-6, 5-1 AFC East); Jets (4-13, 0-6 AFC East)
The Bills clinched their second consecutive AFC East championship and their first back-to-back division titles since the 1990 and ’91 seasons. It was the first time they clinched the division at home since 1995.
Buffalo scored on its first two possessions and blocked a punt that somehow shifted momentum to the Jets. The Bills pieced together a quick field goal drive late in the second quarter to take a 13-7 lead into halftime.
A botched 7-yard punt by Matt Haack gave the Jets the ball deep in Bills territory, and Eddy Pineiro hit a 49-yard field goal to trim Buffalo’s lead to 13-10 through three quarters.
Allen led a seven-play, 51-yard touchdown drive to re-establish a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.
The Bills put the game out of reach on the next possession, taking advantage of a short field. Singletary caught a 5-yard touchdown pass with about four minutes to play.
Stars of the game:
• Josh Allen: 24 of 45 for 239 yards, two TDs, 83.5 rating; 64 rushing yards on five carries.
• Devin Singletary: 88 yards, TD on 19 carries; 24 yards, TD on two catches.
• Stefon Diggs: 81 yards, TD on nine catches.
• Mario Addison: Two sacks, his team-high sixth and seventh of the season.
Rare air: Josh Allen joined Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers & Patrick Mahomes as the only players in NFL history to record consecutive seasons with 4,000+ passing yards & 35+ passing TDs. Allen accomplished the feat with his 10-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs on the Bills’ opening possession.
Diggs over 100: Stefon Diggs became the first player in Bills history to reach 100 catches in consecutive seasons, notching the milestone in the second quarter. Diggs gets a $750,000 bonus added to his base salary for 2022 and an additional $800,000 added to his base pay for 2023 for reaching 100 catches.
Diggs finished the season with 103 catches, surpassing Eric Moulds (100 catches in 2002) for the second-most catches in a single season in team history.
Diggs set the franchise record with 127 catches last season.
But wait, there’s more: Diggs’ first-quarter touchdown was his career-high 10th of the season. It moved him to within one touchdown catch of tying the Bills’ single-season record, set by Bill Brooks, who had 11 in 1995.
Diggs also surpassed Wes Welker for the most catches by a player in his first two seasons with a team in NFL history. Diggs has 230 catches the last two seasons. Welker had 223 with New England from 2007-08.
Nine sacks: The Bills had nine sacks, the most in a game under Sean McDermott.
Addison and Poyer led the way with two sacks apiece. Ed Oliver had 1 1/2 sacks, giving him a sack in three consecutive games. Boogie Basham, Matt Milano and A.J. Epenesa also notched sacks, while Jerry Hughes had a 1/2 sack. Hughes (53) has the fourth-most sacks in Bills history, surpassing Cornelius Bennett (52.5).
The previous record under McDermott was seven sacks at Miami on Nov. 17, 2019.
The Bills last had 10 sacks against Washington on Oct. 30, 2011.
Blocked punt: Cam Lewis blocked a punt late in the first quarter, the first for the Bills since Jerry Hughes against Seattle on Nov. 7, 2016.
Lewis’ blocked punt was recovered by Jaquan Johnson at the New York 35-yard line. It did not result in points, because the Bills turned the ball over on downs on fourth and 4 at the Jets 29. Allen’s pass intended for Gabriel Davis was incomplete.
Heads up: With the Bills driving late in the second quarter and no timeouts, Allen ended a scramble with a lateral to Dawson Knox, allowing the tight end to step out of bounds to stop the clock. Allen picked up eight yards on the play, while Knox was credited with four rushing yards without a carry. Buffalo ended the drive with a field goal.
Next up: Bills vs AFC wild card, TBA
