ORCHARD PARK — An unfamiliar sound emanated from the Jets postgame locker room. It was the sound of jubilation. The music was loud, the hollering was louder and everyone had a smile on his face.
The sounds of celebration were understandable for a team that had lost six straight games before its dramatic comeback victory over the Bills on Sunday. The Jets rallied from an 11-point deficit to win 27-23 at New Era Field, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 1:17 left in the game on a 1-yard touchdown from Elijah McGuire on fourth-and-goal. The win moved the Jets to 4-9 on the season, the same record as the Bills.
“We [were] on another level now,” safety Jamal Adams said of the postgame celebration, comparing it to a night club in Miami. “We was in here partying now. We finally got a win. … It was just great to have that feeling back.”
That feeling had been missing after six straight losses, the franchise’s longest losing streak since 2014. The Jets got rookie quarterback Sam Darnold back after he missed three games due to injury and he lifted the club in the fourth quarter with two unforgettable throws.
The Jets were trailing 20-13 at the start of the fourth quarter after falling behind 14-3 in the first quarter. The Jets had the ball and were in Bills territory after a 34-yard run by McGuire. Darnold moved the Jets to the 7 with a few clutch throws, but then he showed why the Jets took him No. 3 overall. On third-and-5 from the 7, Darnold rolled to his right with Bills defensive end Kyle Williams diving at his feet. He then reversed field and went to his left, spotting Robby Anderson in the back of the end zone. Darnold delivered a strike just past the outreached arm of a diving Tre’Davious White into Anderson’s hands to tie the game at 20-20.
“Tremendous,” Jets cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who had two interceptions, said. “Sam, man, he has that it factor. He can make every throw. He’s mobile. He’s smart. He’s patient. He’s doing a good job right now.”
The Bills took a 23-20 lead with 2:31 remaining on a 36-yard field goal by Stephen Hauschka. Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen had moved the Bills into scoring territory on a 38-yard pass to Robert Foster.
The Jets got the ball back at their own 39 after the kickoff return and a penalty. McGuire converted a third-and-1 run to keep the drive going and then Darnold struck again. This time it was a beautiful 37-yard pass down the sideline to Anderson, who showed great concentration to pull the ball in and set the Jets up at the Bills’ 5 with 1:48 left to play.
“It was basically perfect,” Anderson said of the throw. “It was where only I can get it. It was basically a perfect pass.”
The Bills stopped Darnold at the 1-yard line on third down, setting up a dramatic decision for Jets coach Todd Bowles. With fourth-and-goal at the 1, down by three, Bowles could play for the tie or go for the win.“No decision whatsoever,” the usually conservative Bowles said. “We came up here to win the game.”
The Jets put seven offensive linemen on the field and ran a stretch run to McGuire, who plunged into the end zone to give the Jets the lead.
The Bills got the ball back, but Allen threw his second interception of the game to Johnson and the Jets began to party.
“I’m happy for the guys,” Bowles said. “They haven’t won in a while. They’ve been taking a lot of heat, deservedly so, and they still came out fighting. Today, they got a win so tonight we’re going to be happy [and] tomorrow we have to move on to Houston.”
It was total team win for the Jets with the offense scoring three touchdowns, equaling their total for the last five games combined. The defense forced three takeaways after going through a five-game drought that ended last week. On special teams, returner Andre Roberts had returns of 51 and 86 yards that started scoring drives and Henry Anderson blocked a field goal to end the first half.
The win was meaningful for the Jets not only to end their losing streak but also because of what the Bills did to them a month ago, when they beat them 41-10 at MetLife Stadium.
“They talked a lot of trash after the last game,” linebacker Jordan Jenkins said. “They flat-out embarrassed us on our home turf. There was a lot of pent-up aggression. A lot of guys downplayed it in the media, but we were pissed off. We knew we wanted to come in here and make a statement.”
The meeting was the first between Darnold and Allen, who were both first-round picks this year. Darnold exited the game for a series in the first quarter when he injured his right foot, the same one that caused him to miss three games, but it was not the same injury and he came back into the game quickly. Allen ran for 101 yards, 87 in the first half, but struggled throwing the ball. He only completed 50 percent of his passes and had the two picks.
The win is too little, too late for the Jets, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention when the Titans beat the Jaguars on Thursday. Some fans will view the win as a negative because it hurts their draft position. But the Jets will take it.
“We live in the moment,” Bowles said. “We understand what happened in the past, but today is all about us beating the Bills. We’re going to enjoy that. I understand it doesn’t make us 16-0 and catapult us to the top but it’s a good feeling and a good win for us.”