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NFL: Buffalo Bills Defeat Jets 22-17 In Rex Ryan’s Return To New York On ‘Thursday Night Football’

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 23:23 PST, Nov 12, 2015

The NFL’s Thursday Night Football marked the return of Rex Ryan to his former home field, as he led the Buffalo Bills to a victory over his old team, the New York Jets.

It took some time for the game to really get going, as the first three drives ended with a punt after three downs, and the fourth drive was just one snap longer. The first quarter ended with the fifth punt of the game while the Jets held on to what would be their only lead of the night, 3-0.

Taking advantage of some of New York’s mistakes in the second quarter, the Bills managed to score nine points in a matter of nine seconds (per the game clock).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAI5eFmZrRM

About halfway through the quarter, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw an interception. Four plays later, the Bills were able to set up a field goal to tie the game. Then, as the Bills kicked off to the Jets, Buffalo’s special teams were able to pick up a fumble and score a touchdown. John Johnson actually missed the extra point, but the Bills still registered nine points in nine seconds, and the Jets were never able to fully recover. Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills would end up scoring twelve unanswered points in the second quarter. As noted by Sports Illustrated, this game marked Rex Ryan’s return to New York after being fired by the Jets in January. The Bills signed Ryan right away.

Thursday Night Football is notorious for lousy gameplay, as the teams are playing with three days less rest than normal. But as NFL.com pointed out, this game in particular was ugly for other reasons. From odd jerseys and rainy weather to fumbles and bad play-calling, the Jets-Bills game wasn’t the prettiest way to kick off Week 10 of the NFL season.

With matching records of 5-4, the Bills and Jets will remain tied for second place in the AFC East, regardless of how first place New England Patriots (8-0) due in New York against the Giants or how the last place Miami Dolphins (3-5) do against the Eagles in Philadelphia on Sunday.

Interestingly enough, the noticeable change in uniforms was part of the NFL’s “Color Rush” promotion. Whatever it is meant to promote, it proved to be a hindrance on Thursday night for those with some forms of colorblindness. As the New York Daily News reported, one such person was former New York Giants kicker, Lawrence Tynes.

For those that have members of the Buffalo Bills or New York Jets on their fantasy football teams, neither starting quarterback lead their team in fantasy points this week, according to the standard scoring at the NFL’s fantasy football site. Buffalo had a total of six players (defense/kickers not included) that registered points, while New York had ten (although four of them scored less than 1 point). Running back LeSean McCoy (19.30) was the highest-scoring Bill, followed by QB Tyrod Taylor (12.12). Wide Receiver Eric Decker (15.10) was the highest-scoring Jet, just barely edging out QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (15.02) for the spot. With a sack, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown, the Buffalo Bills defense registered 18.50 points this week.

For Week 11 of the NFL regular season, the Buffalo Bills get ten days off before travelling to New England to face AFC East leaders, the undefeated New England Patriots. The New York Jets will travel to Houston in Week 11 to face the Texans.

[Image credit Elsa / Getty Images]

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