ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — After taking the first snap, Josh Allen headed to the sideline and joined the 70,000-plus fans to watch backup Mitch Trubisky throw four touchdown passes as the Buffalo Bills bid a likely farewell to their long-time home with a 35-8 rout of the New York Jets on Sunday.
Gabe Davis caught two touchdown passes and Ty Johnson had a TD run and a scoring catch in an outing during which the playoff-bound Bills (12-5) rested a majority
of their starters.
Buffalo’s defense, meantime, manhandled an injury-depleted and backup-filled Jets offense that was blanked through 3 1/2 quarters and finished with 122 yards offense and nine first downs.
The win, coupled with the Los Angeles Chargers’ loss at Denver, led to Buffalo moving up one spot in clinching the No. 6 seed. The Bills will travel to play the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round next weekend.
It’ll be the third playoff meeting between the teams, with Jacksonville winning both. The Jaguars defeated Buffalo 30-27 in what stood as Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly’s final game in 1996. More recently, the Jaguars beat Buffalo 10-3 in 2017 in the Bills first playoff appearance after ending a 17-year postseason drought.
It was the latest blowout loss for the Jets (3-14), who closed their first season under coach Aaron Glenn losing five straight in which they were outscored by a combined 188-54.
They became the NFL’s first team to lose by 23 or more in five consecutive games in one season.
The outing turned into an afternoon-long celebration for the Bills and their fans, many of whom stayed throughout in Buffalo’s final regular-season home game at the 53-year-old Highmark Stadium. The Bills, next season, are moving across the street to their new $2.1 billion facility.
The team honored its past with Kelly and fellow Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed addressing the crowd. Even 100-year-old Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy delivered his familiar line of, “Where would you rather be than right here, right now,” in a video message broadcast on the scoreboard during half time.
By then, the outcome was essentially sealed with Buffalo leading 21-0 in a half the Jets were limited to four first downs and 63 yards offense.
And a majority of the fans were still on hand, and rose to their feet at the final 2-minute warning to sing along to what’s become their victory theme song: “Mr. Brightside.” As Trubisky took a knee coming out of the break, a large cheer rose through the stadium with fans tossing up snow like confetti in a lengthy cheer. They continued to stay to sing Buffalo’s traditional “Shout!” song and then “Iris” by the hometown Goo Goo Dolls.
Trubisky finished 22 of 29 for 259 yards.
The loss secured New York the No. 2 pick in the draft.
Undrafted rookie Brady Cook, making his fourth straight start, went 11 of 22 for 60 yards and a 2-yard touchdown pass to fullback Andrew Beck with 7:33 remaining.
The Jets became the NFL’s first team to finish a season without a defensive interception. And New York finished with just four takeaways, breaking the NFL-low record of seven set by San Francisco in 2018.
Allen, nursing a sore right foot, took the first snap to extend his starting streak to 135 (including playoffs) — the NFL’s longest active run among quarterbacks.
James Cook who entered as the NFL’s rushing leader finished with 15 yards to up his total to 1,564. The only player capable of catching Cook is Baltimore's Derrick Henry, who has 1,469 yards rushing, entering the Ravens game against Pittsburgh.
Bills tight end Dawson Knox entered needing 7 yards receiving to reach 400 and earn a $100,000 bonus. With three TDs this season, the seventh-year player was also one score away from another $100,000 bonus. He achieved both with a game-opening 17-yard touchdown.
Jets: LB Quincy Williams left in the second half with a hand injury.
Bills: K Matt Prater aggravated a quadriceps injury in the first half.
Jets: Season over.
Bills: Open wild-card round at Jacksonville.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
