Cover credit – Buffalo Bills, Emilee Fails
Pre-season is always different; the play either translates to the games that actually matter, or it doesn’t.
The New York Jets, Giants, and Bills played this weekend in week one of NFL football and came away with one out of three wins.
Let’s start with the winner. “Da Bills” took the ‘W’ over the Baltimore Ravens in dramatic fashion, mounting a comeback to win the game 41-40. Josh Allen, the Bills’ veteran starting quarterback, has proven why he’s so good at his job yet again. The QB threw for 394 yards, completing 33 of 46 passes, and making it to the endzone twice for two touchdowns. The Bills scored seven touchdowns, and kicker Matt Prater went three-for-three in field goal attempts. A fourth quarter comeback commenced as they were down 34-19. Scoring four touchdowns and a field goal while limiting the Ravens to one TD earned them the victory.
“It took everybody out there, just proud of our team for staying in it. No one on the sideline blinked,” said Bills quarterback Josh Allen in a postgame press conference.
The New York Giants were away in Washington for their Sunday matchup with the Commanders. Having gone undefeated during pre-season, I think fans expected things to go a little differently. Unfortunately for New York, they struggled to find the endzone, losing 21-6. Longtime NFL veteran quarterback Russell Wilson didn’t have his best day, completing only 17 of his 37 passes and throwing for only 168 yards. The six points scored for the Big Blue came off two field goals made by kicker Graham Gano.
“Credit to Washington, they played a good game. I thought there were times we did good things, but obviously not enough. Offensively, six points is tough to win a game. I didn’t feel like we got into much of a rhythm,” said head coach Brian Daboll in a postgame press conference.
The Jets had the pleasure of opening their season at home in front of 83,000 fans at MetLife Stadium versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ironically enough, the Jets faced their former QB in Aaron Rodgers. He put on a better outing than he did as a Jet, scoring four touchdowns and completing 22 out of 30 of his passes while throwing for 244 yards. The Jets put up a fight ,though, only losing by two points in a 34-32 loss to the Steelers. New York started rookie quarterback Justin Fields in week one. The Ohio State graduate had a decent outing, scoring one touchdown and completing 16 of his 22 passes for 218 yards.
“As a team, I thought we were keeping each other in the fight,” said Jets head coach Aaron Glenn in a postgame press conference.
Everybody knows playing for a professional New York sports team isn’t easy. We get a glimmer of hope, only to have it yanked out from under us, only to repeat the cycle over and over again. But alas, football is football, and there are 18 weeks in a season for a reason. Week one proved to be a test and served as a way to get the jitters out. Next week, the Bills take on the Jets at MetLife on Sunday, while the Giants head to Dallas for their second straight road game, a rivalry matchup with the Cowboys.
