Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. NY Jets 37 at Buffalo 31 OT WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW New York Jets: Curtis Martin suffered a sprained left ankle in the second quarter. He walked off towards the sidelines and did not return. X-Rays were negative. LaMont Jordan came in and got all but one carry the rest of the game. Jordan finished with 7 carries for 32 yards and caught 1 pass for 7 yards. The Jets passing offense resembled last year's. Lots of short, quick passes. Vinny Testaverde rarely looked far downfield. Anthony Becht (4 receptions, 36 yards) was a big part of the red zone offense, with a touchdown and 2 point conversion; both plays were designed specifically to go to him. Jets run defense was poor. Last year's 28th ranked run defense has a lot of work to do. Against a supposedly mediocre offensive line for Buffalo, the Jets usually weren't even able to touch Travis Henry until he had already picked up several yards. Buffalo Bills: Travis Henry, Travis Henry, Travis Henry. Ran hard, looked tremendous. Career highs 149 yards & 3 TDs, besting previous career high of 113 (also against the Jets). Lost a fumble while switching the ball to his opposite hand. Coach Gregg Williams went back to him immediately on the next drive. For what it's worth, announcer Phil Simms said "Henry reminds me of Barry Sanders, when he hits the line with that power". On passing situations, both he and Larry Centers were on the field but Henry caught 6 balls while Centers had just one early reception. Drew Bledsoe is the unquestioned leader of this team. Won over even more fans with a crushing block of Jason Ferguson on a reverse to Price. Took numerous big hits but seemed ok. Many passes were quick strikes, as Buffalo's offensive line did not give Bledsoe much time to work until the last drive to tie the game. Establishing a reputation as one of the best 4th quarter QBs in the league. Eric Moulds was a non-factor until the 4th quarter, but then exploded for 95 yards. Nearly dropped the game tying TD from Bledsoe with 26 seconds left. Peerless Price was targeted with the game on the line on a 4th and 3 during the last drive. Price was also targeted on over 10 passes. Jay Riemersma had 1 catch and was never even looked to otherwise. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW New York Jets QB: Vinny Testaverde never locked on to just one receiver. It appeared that whoever was the most open would get the looks. Seemed to favor Wayne Chrebet in big situations. Did not take many shots downfield. RB: Curtis Martin wasn't doing much at the time of his injury, but he had 5 receptions. He left the field, came back to the sidelines, then returned to the locker room again and did not return. LaMont Jordan filled in for Martin. He had one nice run for 14 yards. Fumbled once and it was recovered by Buffalo. On the very next play for the Jets offense, Coach Herman Edwards called a handoff to Jordan. Clearly, the team has confidence in him. Richie Anderson seems to have a bigger role this season. Was targeted on 5 passes including once in the red zone. Would have scored if he hadn't been held. WR: Laveranues Coles was extremely quiet. Showed good moves after the catch but was not much of a factor at all. Wayne Chrebet started opposite Coles and was the apparent go-to guy in big spots. He caught a long touchdown pass and had a 21 yard reception on the Jets last drive in regulation. Santana Moss caught one ball and had one rushing attempt. It seems the team wants to make sure they at least get him a few touches in some way. TE: Anthony Becht had 4 receptions, 1 for a touchdown. On several of the balls, he had to adjust in mid-air and make nice grabs. With the Jets undersized receivers, Becht could play a huge role in the red zone offense for this team as its only big target. Jets Pass Defense: 2 INTs, 1 fumble recovery. New secondary had some trouble containing Moulds late and Price early. Pass rush was very effective in getting to Bledsoe, but it had some trouble trying to actually bring him down. John Abraham was mentioned just once, and it was only because he committed a penalty. Jets Rush Defense: Had trouble with Travis Henry all day. Couldn't really do anything to stop him. Jets Special Teams: The only reason the Jets won the game. Chad Morton had 2 electric kick returns for touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime. Neither was straight ahead, he had to make a number of moves on each. John Hall was perfect on a 45 yard FG but missed one from 48. Jets also blocked a punt, which was a huge play at that point in the game. Jets played an uncharacteristically sloppy game as far as penalties. Twice they roughed the punter, leading to 2 key first downs for the Bills. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Buffalo Bills QB: Drew Bledsoe seemed to really be having fun out on the field. Was about to be sacked by Mo Lewis (who knocked him out of action last season) but stood up long enough to complete an off-balance amazing pass to Josh Reed. His pump fake on the game tying touchdown to Moulds froze the defense and was the reason why Moulds was able to get open. Showed incredible arm strength and played with a lot of emotion. Appears rejuvenated by the move to Buffalo. RB: Travis Henry looked incredible. Most people commented that Bledsoe's presence would create holes for Henry. This game though, it appeared that it was HENRY's running ability that gave time to BLEDSOE No other RB got a carry in the game. Larry Centers will not have as much of an effect in the passing game as previously suspected. On any situation where Centers was in the game, Travis Henry remained in the game as well. WR: Eric Moulds did not do much before the 4th quarter. But he exploded in the 4th for 95 yards and the game-tying touchdown. He was the first look in the red zone. Peerless Price showed great ability to get open. Bledsoe constantly looked to him, and the attention paid to Price may have been a big reason why Moulds was able to get open so frequently in the fourth quarter. Josh Reed made a few nice catches but is clearly the third option in this offense. TE: Jay Riemersma was as much of a non-factor as he'll be all year. The reason for him being shut down wasn't because he played poorly; the reason was that the receivers were so open that they got the bulk of the work. Bills Pass Defense: Were able to effectively take the Jets receivers out of the game. The Jets speed was neutralized even without getting a ton of pressure on Testaverde. Bills Rush Defense: Allowed 5.7 yards per carry to the Jets but they got the stops when they needed them for the most part. Buffalo had the ball for nearly 40 minutes so even though the Jets were effective running the ball, New York didn't have it long enough to have any impact. Bills Special Teams: Hollis boomed a 52 yard field goal that would have been good from much further. He missed one from 50, however. Kick coverage was horrendous, allowing the 2 long returns to Chad Morton. A number of missed tackles allowed what should have been 2 good runs to become 2 amazing runs.