EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills pulled off a stunner in their season opener.
So, what will they do for an encore?
Well, they're taking on Justin Fields and the new-look New York Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in an AFC East showdown — a week after Allen led the Bills to three scores in the final four minutes of a 41-40 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
“Yeah, well, I think I’ve said it in some of these interviews before of sometimes you need the ball to bounce your
way, and it did on Sunday night,” Allen said. “And just fortunate enough we can come away with that, with a win. Now, obviously, that has no bearing or impact on next week’s game or this week’s game, I should say, whatsoever.
“So, you know, we've got to wash it and forget about it and put our best foot forward this week.”
The Bills (1-0) know better than to overlook an opponent, especially one such as the Jets (0-1), who gave Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers fits — and held two fourth-quarter leads — before losing 34-32.
“I think the best way to describe me (Monday) morning is disappointed but highly, highly encouraged by things that I saw on tape,” said Aaron Glenn, who lost in his NFL head coaching debut.
One of the main reasons for the optimism was Fields, who was 16 of 22 for 218 yards and a touchdown — a 33-yard strike to Garrett Wilson — and ran 12 times for 48 yards and another score.
“I’ve said this a number of times, I just want our quarterback to be efficient," Glenn said. “He went out and he did that.”
Allen has made a career of doing that, too. And Glenn experienced that firsthand last season when he faced the Bills' star signal caller when he was Detroit's defensive coordinator in a 48-42 loss to Buffalo.
“Man, he’s tough, he’s highly competitive,” Glenn said, “and he allows this offense to never be out of a play.”
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady has become accustomed to seeing Allen do remarkable things since joining the Bills as their quarterbacks coach four years ago.
But Allen's performance during Buffalo’s comeback last Sunday took it to another level.
“Seeing what Josh was able to get to, and seeing the coverages and diagnosing it, and knowing where the answers were and where to go with the clock going down, I mean, it was at an all-time high,” Brady said after Allen finished with 394 yards passing, including 251 in the fourth quarter. “There was a lot of wows, that’s for sure.”
The Jets made it clear throughout training camp they were going to rely heavily on their running game to power the offense. That was on full display against the Steelers when they had 182 yards rushing, led by Breece Hall's 107 on 19 carries.
“Something we’ve talked about throughout the spring and into training camp of what our DNA and what we want to look like on offense, I think that showed up,” coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. “And that was positive for us in that first game.”
New York could have a chance to roll up more yards on the ground against Buffalo, which gave up 238 yards rushing in the win over Baltimore.
Deone Walker recalled being on the sideline when fellow rookie defensive tackle T.J. Sanders was preparing to take the field with Buffalo trailing Baltimore 40-32 with 3:50 left. That’s when veteran Ed Oliver turned to Sanders and held him back.
Two snaps in, Oliver forced Derrick Henry’s fumble — a key turning point in helping the Bills overcome a 15-point deficit in the final four minutes.
“He was like, ‘Uh-uh, I want to go in,' because he knew how crucial of a drive it was for us,’” Walker said of Oliver. “Now I see why.”
Cameron Johnston will make his debut as Buffalo’s punter as the replacement for Brad Robbins, who was released after averaging 39.5 yards on four punts against Baltimore.
Johnston is a 33-year-old from Australia now on his fourth team in eight seasons after being released by Pittsburgh last month.
“Didn’t feel like we were where we needed to be maybe and so, like anything else, we’re always looking to see how we can improve,” coach Sean McDermott said.
Johnston’s addition came a week after the Bills signed 19-year veteran kicker Matt Prater to fill in for Tyler Bass, who was placed on injured reserve with hip and groin issues. Prater hit all three field-goal attempts in the victory, including a game-winning 32-yarder as time expired.
The Jets will likely have a new set of returners on kickoffs and punts Sunday.
Xavier Gipson, the team's primary punt returner, was released two days after after his costly fumble on a kickoff against the Steelers. Primary kickoff returner Kene Nwangwu is dealing with a hamstring injury. New York was going through several options this week, including signing Isaiah Williams off Cincinnati's practice squad and signing Keilan Robinson to the practice squad.
“We've got to keep moving forward,” special teams coordinator Chris Banjo said. “Really, really confident about the guys that we still have in the building.”
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AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Orchard Park, New York, contributed to this report.
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