EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Buffalo Bills reached a point Sunday where they asked the New York Jets, “What are you gonna do about it?”
Bills offensive coordinator crafted a game plan centered around heavy personnel and pounding away at a Jets defense built to rush the passer. But eventually the Jets knew what the Bills wanted to do and still couldn’t stop them.
Forty-three times the Bills ran the ball and they gained 224 yards, picking up more yards on the ground than the Jets had total yards (149). For just the second time in 112 NFL starts, the Bills won a game without Josh Allen scoring a touchdown.
Not only did they win, but the Bills hammered the Jets, 30-10, thanks to James Cook’s 132 yards and two touchdowns). It was the third time the Jets have allowed 200 yards rushing in the last three seasons.
“I thought James was doing a great job of getting onto the second level and he had a heck of a game,” Allen said. “When something’s not broke, don’t fix it. We kept going back to it and it worked out pretty good for us.”
Allen had an NFL-best 394 passing yards Week 1, but he never got into a consistent rhythm throwing the ball and was 3 of 10 for 14 yards at one point in the second quarter. He ultimately finished 14 of 25 for 148 yards.
Allen handed over this star to Cook, who conversely only had 44 yards on 13 carries against the Baltimore Ravens in his first game since signing his $46 million extension. Cook got six carries on the opening drive, and when the Bills got into the red zone, he carried three consecutive plays before punching in a 1-yard touchdown run.
Cook had 21 attempts in the game — his third career 20-carry game and first since Week 5 last year — and 11 of them went for at least 5 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put the Bills up 20-0.
Showing impeccable footwork, Cook saw a hole to his left, but it closed once he got there. Linebacker Quincy Williams could only grab ahold of Cook’s ankle though, and when he squirted free, he knew that he only had to beat one player to the end zone.
“It’s just setting our identity,” Cook said. “We can run the football and get tough yards and that’s what we did — ran the ball and did it efficient.”
The Bills want to establish the run every week and there have been few instances Brady hasn’t made sure they are running the ball early, as Sunday marked their fourth 200-yard game in 31 games under Brady after having five in Sean McDermott’s first 116 games as coach.
In the first half against the Ravens, Buffalo threw the ball 17 times and ran it 11 (at 4.9 yards per carry). But as the Bills fell into a hole in the second half, they went to the passing game and Cook had one carry in the fourth quarter.
Well, Brady went to Cook immediately against the Jets. Allen’s 40-yard scramble on third and 8 was the highlight of the drive, but Cook had five carries for 23 yards.
It was a drive that set the tone and not just because they ran it nine times on the 12-play, 81-yard drive. They used fullback Reggie Gilliam or at least two tight ends five times on the drive, a trend that persisted throughout the game.
The Bills used heavy personnel on 30 of 58 plays through the first three quarters, particularly in the third quarter. They used heavy personnel six times on an 11-play drive to open the second half and then nine times on a 12-play drive.
Both drives chewed up 13 minutes of clock and limited the Jets to just three offensive plays in the third quarter.
“That’s our plan every week, like, it’s not exclusive to who we’re playing,” left guard David Edwards said. “We want to establish the line of scrimmage, stay multiple in our formations, both run and pass. It’s certainly important. But I think that’s our emphasis.”