It’s possible 2023’s NFL game of the year heavily involved Zach Wilson. On the other side of the ball? A perennial MVP candidate and his four turnovers.
The New York Jets staged an unlikely comeback without Aaron Rodgers, knocking off a disheveled Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in overtime. An overtime forced by a doinked-in 50-yard field goal and ended by a 65-yard punt return touchdown by an undrafted free agent rookie (and aided by a blown tripping call).
So yes, the first Monday Night Football game of the year wasn’t a good one, but it was a great one. Chaos reigned for roughly 60 minutes of game play. Let’s go over how it unfolded, step-by-step.
Aaron Rodgers' Jets debut ended after four snaps
Rodgers’ three dropbacks resulted in negative-five net yards. A bullying Bills pass rush pressured him throughout his brief spell behind center, dropping him for a 10-yard loss on his fourth snap in green and white.
This was his last snap of the night. After being helped off the field, he was carted to the locker room and x-rayed. While those x-rays were negative, he was still ruled out for the game, turning the reins over to deposed starter Zach Wilson. This was Robert Saleh’s approximate reaction to the whole ordeal.
Josh Allen failed to capitalize
Cornerback D.J. Reed suggested the Bills could have a historic defense in 2023. Nothing they did Monday night dissuaded that notion. While Stefon Diggs found space in single coverage — understandable, as he’s Stefon Diggs — the rest of Buffalo’s receivers and running backs combined for 134 receiving yards on 26 targets. That’s a paltry 5.2 yards per throw from Josh Allen, a player who has finished in the top three of MVP voting in two of the last three seasons.
This was not the end of Allen’s struggles. Safety Jordan Whitehead haunted him all night to the tune of three interceptions. He was five of 13 on third down, equally as efficient as Wilson’s Jets offense. If not for Rodgers’ injury, Allen’s talent snatching at the hands of the Mon-Stars would be the lead on SportsCenter Tuesday morning.
Zach Wilson looked very much like Zach Wilson
Wilson’s stats will suggest he was more or less an average quarterback Monday night. This is incorrect. While the third year pro had some nice throws, he also had several bonehead moments. He scrambled into traffic. He ran backwards 10-plus yards in hopes of avoiding trouble. He threw a truly awful interception.
All-Pro @MatthewMilanoo. 😤
📺 : @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/xeGprsdFnG
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 12, 2023
He showed up in moments and didn’t give the game away. That was important, as we’ll see he wasn’t really given the chance to.
Garrett Wilson bailed out a bad Wilson throw with a catch of the year candidate for a touchdown
Wilson went from wideout to cornerback to wideout all in the span of roughly 1.5 seconds here. It’s beautiful — and it tied the game.
GARRETT WILSON IS THAT GUY!!!
WE'RE TIED!!#BUFvsNYJ on ESPN pic.twitter.com/SUMWcTPF1e
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 12, 2023
Josh Allen nearly butt fumbled and Mark Sanchez noticed
The Jets got the ball back on the very next possession after Allen dropped a snap, tried to run, bashed into his own lineman and put the ball on the turf.
MADNESS AT METLIFE. JETS BALL!!!#BUFvsNYJ on ESPN pic.twitter.com/0cL8h8vhXx
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 12, 2023
It wasn’t quite butt fumble embarrassing, but Mark Sanchez wasn’t about to let that slide when it happened on his old home turf.
Josh Allen just ran into his own guy and fumbled… weird 🤷🏻♂️
— Mark Sanchez (@Mark_Sanchez) September 12, 2023
The Jets refused to take any chances with a possession deep in Bills territory
New York picked up Allen’s fumble at the Bills’ 27-yard line. These are the plays Robert Salah called from there:
- run
- run
- run
- run
- run
- run
- run
- 30-yard field goal.
This is how things get done when you’ve got Wilson back behind center.
Josh Allen rode Stefon Diggs into field goal range before a glorious, successful doink
Diggs had 40 of his 102 receiving yards in the final minute of regulation. This set up a 50-yard Tyler Bass kick with six seconds to play. It was centimeters away from disaster.
We are all tied up!
📺: #BUFvsNYJ on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/6SstXq1rq7 pic.twitter.com/Lol2NTYLqn— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2023
Finally, undrafted rookie Xavier Gipson took matters into his own hands and ended the game; no Zach Wilson required
Was it a great punt return? Absolutely.
THE ROOKIE DID IT! THE ROOKIE DID IT!@Gipson22X TAKES THE PUNT BACK AND WE WIN THE FOOTBALL GAME.#BUFvsNYJ on ESPN pic.twitter.com/VxK1q6W802
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 12, 2023
Was it a legal one? Hah, no.
refs missed a tripping penalty on the game-winning punt return by the jets, but you can't expect them to get everything. sometimes they're just not in the right position to see the play pic.twitter.com/haqOltwSN2
— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 12, 2023
But hey, tripping is only a penalty if the referees call it. Congratulations, Jets. You somehow pulled it off. What a way to start the season.
