A bad day for the Bills is looking a little worse.
They trail the Jets 21-7 in the second quarter and running back Fred Jackson just got blown up by safety LaRon Landry. Jackson was nearing the end of a long gain when he ran into Landry and was left on the field with what looked like a leg injury. It’s an unhappy reminder of Jackson’s broken leg from last season, although Jackson was eventually able to walk off the field.
On a day short of good news, the Bills well take it and they’ll take C.J. Spiller’s score on the same drive. Spiller broke a Landry tackle on his way to a 56-yard touchdown that got the Bills on the board after it looked like the Jets were running away with things.
Jeremy Kerely took a punt back 68 yards for a touchdown two minutes into the second quarter to lift the Jets to a 21-0 lead, the first Jet punt return touchdown since Santana Moss in 2002. That means the Jets offense wasn’t able to get right back on the field.
Surprisingly, that’s a bad thing. Mark Sanchez followed up an early touchdown pass to Kerley with a 33-yard strike to rookie Stephen Hill. Hill burned fellow rookie Stephan Gilmore badly on a double move to get open for the score. Sanchez is now 7-of-10 for 100 yards on a day that’s only been marred by an interception on the first drive. Tim Tebow has two carries for seven yards.
Both of Sanchez’s touchdowns were set up by interceptions of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who just missed getting picked off for a third time before Kerley’s big return. The offense has been overwhelmed by the Jets defense, which might be looking to remind the world that the offense isn’t the only part of the Jets. Spiller’s run changes things a bit, but the Jets still have confounded some expectations in Week One.
UPDATE 2:08 p.m. ET: Jackson returned to the Buffalo locker room with about six minutes to play in the first half.
UPDATE 2:38 p.m. ET: Jackson is questionable to return with a leg injury.