Two Bills Drive

‘Vinny Testaverde threw a pair of interceptions and had no touchdown passes, but he seemed unwilling to accept at least some of the blame for either one of them in the Jets’ 14-9 loss to the Bills yesterday.’

‘Good teams can make mistakes and win. Not the Same Olds. They began the day with the best turnover record in the NFL. They take it away and they don’t cough it up. Yesterday, they coughed it away three times and every one of them was painful.’

‘The Bills confused the Jets with a “bunch” formation, resulting in a 22-yard TD pass to WR Peerless Price. CB Ray Mickens, responsible for Price in man-to-man coverage, got picked on the play, according to Edwards.’

‘Herman Edwards made several tactical errors. Clearly, the Jets underestimated the Bills.’

‘”We had an opportunity to do something special today, but we just didn’t get it done . . . I still don’t believe we lost,” linebacker Marvin Jones said.’

‘”We just didn’t have enough time,” Hackett said. “We had 13 seconds and we thought we had two plays [left]. Everybody knows that, but it turned out we only had one.”‘

‘”It would have been easy for us just to give up and go home,” said Van Pelt. “Ever since I’ve been here, that’s not the way we’ve done things, no matter what the odds are.”‘

‘Given the way the Jets played yesterday and their recent history in critical games, a win over Oakland is hardly a given – but the Raiders’ recent performance doesn’t make them world-beaters, either.’

‘All the Jets needed, after showing no absolutely killer instinct and letting the Bills hang around all day and making Alex Van Pelt throw like Jim Kelly and Shawn Bryson run like Thurman Thomas, was the kind of grace under pressure that champions show you with a game, and, quite possibly, a season, on the line. In other words, the moment seized them instead of them seizing the moment.’

‘The Jets didn’t need a good solider yesterday. They needed a renegade. All they had was Testaverde.’

‘The Jets, who entered the game leading the NFL with a plus-23 turnover ratio and with a league-low 15 giveaways, turned the ball over three times, with Vinny Testaverde throwing two INTs and Craig Yeast losing a fumble.’

‘The Bills won for the third time in 15 games; the Jets provided what must have looked like a blooper film from their forgettable December past.’

‘”Theoretically, it shouldn’t be a problem,” beleaguered offensive coordinator Paul Hackett said about getting off two pass plays to the end zone in 13 seconds. “We don’t make that play call if you can’t make two plays.”‘

‘It wasn’t that the Jets allowed Bryson to break off huge chunks of yardage (he averaged just 3.8 on 28 carries), it was that they allowed Buffalo to gain a nine-minute advantage in time of possession.’

‘Of course, everything would have been fine if the Jets’ defense had been able to slow the Bills’ running attack, which allowed them to keep the ball for 10:15 in the third quarter to the Jets’ 4:45.’