Final

Bills 3

(3-3, 1-2 away)

Jets 30

(1-4, 1-2 home)

4:15 PM ET, October 12, 2003

 

1 2 3 4 T
BUF 3 0 0 03
NYJ 0 13 14 330

Jets 'D' records seven sacks

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Vinny Testaverde threw three touchdown passes. Curtis Martin gained key yards. The defense had seven sacks, forced four turnovers and stopped Travis Henry.

Allen's Analysis
Eric Allen
Question on the Bills: What's going on with the Bills?
The Bills have made a 180-degree turnaround since Week 1, when they dominated the New England Patriots. Drew Bledsoe looks like a standing target, just like he did at the end of his tenure with the Patriots. The Bills have to get some type of running game going if they want to return to their early season dominance.

Question on the Jets: Will the Jets be able to build momentum off today's win?
The Jets may be able to build off this game, because two things happened: One, Vinny Testaverde looked comfortable and two, they finally were able to run the football. This was the first game the Jets received over 100 yards rushing and it's no coincidence that it's also their first victory.

Eric Allen played cornerback for 14 NFL seasons with the Eagles, Saints and Raiders.

Could these be the same New York Jets who did nothing right in a bumbling 0-4 start?

Well, they sure were. The Jets won after their bye week yet again, this time routing the Buffalo Bills 30-3 Sunday for their first victory of the season.

Martin came through. The defense came through. And Testaverde came through, helping the Jets break out of their offensive lull.

"We were desperate," Martin said.

Entering the bye week, the Jets could not run or stop the run and could barely score, especially inside the 20. Against the Bills, those problems seemed to be solved.

Martin ran for a season-high 77 yards on 20 carries as the Jets finally got their running game going, tallying over 100 total yards on the ground for the first time this season.

The Jets held Henry to 53 yards on 18 carries -- though he did catch seven passes for 35 yards as Buffalo (3-3) played without top receiver Eric Moulds, out with a strained groin.

Testaverde finished 11-of-17 for 130 yards and threw three touchdown passes in a game for the first time since tossing five in a 40-37 overtime victory over Miami on Oct. 23, 2000.

It should be one of his final starts for the Jets this season. Starter Chad Pennington, out since the preseason with a broken and dislocated left wrist, began practicing this week and worked out at the Meadowlands on Sunday morning before the start of the game.

Pennington could return as early as Oct. 26 against the Eagles. He helped rally the Jets last season, and the win against the Bills could help them start to turn around their season.

"It's huge," center Kevin Mawae said. "To get this monkey off our back, to get the win and do it the way we did it -- we were the team we wanted to be all along."

The Jets would not leave Drew Bledsoe alone -- even without Pro Bowl end John Abraham, held out of the game because of a drunken driving arrest. Shaun Ellis and Jason Ferguson each had two sacks, while first-round draft pick Dewayne Robertson notched his first sack. Sam Cowart, playing against his former team, had a sack and finished with a game-high 15 tackles.

The last time the Jets had seven sacks was in a 34-17 win over New England on Oct. 15, 2000.

Bledsoe threw an interception and fumbled once, finishing 24-of-40 for 202 yards before being pulled for Alex Van Pelt with three minutes left. Van Pelt threw an interception on his first pass.

"We did have our backs against the wall," said Jets cornerback Ray Mickens, who had an interception. "In the bye week we made some changes, and like we did the last two years, we came out and played well."

The Jets improved to 3-0 after a week off under coach Herman Edwards.

Last season, they were 1-4 entering the bye but finished the season with the AFC East title and a 9-7 record.

"I wish we had a bye week all the time," defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell said.

The Bills took a quick 3-0 lead, but their fortunes changed after Henry gained no yards on fourth-and-1 from the Jets 34 toward the end of the first quarter. The Jets took over, and nine plays later, Testaverde threw a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Anthony Becht.

On Buffalo's next possession, Bledsoe could not handle a bad snap from center Trey Teague, and the ball went bouncing 21 yards behind him, before Bryan Thomas recovered for the Jets at the Buffalo 17. Despite the good field position, they could only manage a Doug Brien's 27-yard field goal to make it 10-3.

Santana Moss set up their next TD. After the Bills went three-and-out to start the third quarter, Moss returned a punt 47 yards to the Buffalo 18. One play later, Testaverde threw his second TD pass to Becht, making it 20-3.

Moss finished with three punt returns for 102 yards, and also had a 4-yard TD reception just before the end of the third quarter.

"We didn't play well enough in any area, didn't coach well enough, and they were inspired and outplayed us in every phase," Buffalo coach Gregg Williams said.

Next up, the Jets travel to Houston with renewed confidence and hope they can save their season.

"It gives us a little life," Edwards said, "but we still have a long way to go."

Game notes


Several players were injured. For the Bills: OT Jonas Jennings (hip flexor). For the Jets: LB Victor Hobson (ribs), CB Jamie Henderson (knee), S Jon McGraw (shoulder), CB Leonard Myers (shoulder), WR Wayne Chrebet (had wind knocked out). ... Testaverde passed Joe Montana for seventh place on the NFL's career yardage list.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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Team Stat Comparison

 
Buffalo
NY Jets
1st Downs1513
3rd down efficiency
5-154-11
4th down efficiency
1-40-0
Total Yards193233
Yards per play2.94.5
Total Drives12
Passing140115
Comp-Att
24-4111-17
Yards per pass
3.46.8
Interceptions thrown
20
Sacks-Yards Lost
7-622-15
Rushing53118
Rushing Attempts
1933
Yards per rush
2.83.6
Penalties5-453-25
Turnovers40
Fumbles lost
20
Interceptions thrown
20
Possession32:0827:52

Passing Leaders

BUFC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTSACKS
Bledsoe24/402025.1017-62
Van Pelt0/100.0010-0
NYJC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTSACKS
Testaverde11/171307.6302-15

Rushing Leaders

BUFCARYDSAVGTDLG
Henry18532.909
Bledsoe100.000
NYJCARYDSAVGTDLG
Martin20773.909
Jordan10333.3012

Receiving Leaders

BUFRECYDSAVGTDLG
Shaw6589.7016
Reed34214.0020
NYJRECYDSAVGTDLG
Becht34113.7222
Conway24120.5024

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTERBUFNYJ
FG6:08RIAN LINDELL 44 YD
Drive: 9 plays, 32 yds, 4:44
30
SECOND QUARTERBUFNYJ
TD3:30ANTHONY BECHT 1 YD PASS FROM VINNY TESTAVERDE (DOUG BRIEN KICK)
Drive: 9 plays, 66 yds, 4:50
37
FG10:14DOUG BRIEN 27 YD
Drive: 4 plays, 8 yds, 2:33
310
FG14:15DOUG BRIEN 33 YD
Drive: 8 plays, 34 yds, 1:18
313
THIRD QUARTERBUFNYJ
TD1:58ANTHONY BECHT 18 YD PASS FROM VINNY TESTAVERDE (DOUG BRIEN KICK)
Drive: 1 plays, 18 yds, :07
320
TD14:36SANTANA MOSS 4 YD PASS FROM VINNY TESTAVERDE (DOUG BRIEN KICK)
Drive: 10 plays, 62 yds, 6:28
327
FOURTH QUARTERBUFNYJ
FG11:52DOUG BRIEN 43 YD
Drive: 6 plays, 4 yds, 2:17
330