Three sets of statistical trends, records, marks and highlights by the Jets in their 30-10 loss to Buffalo at MetLife Stadium on Sunday:
The Elusive J.Allen Sack
Kudos to TE Jeremy Ruckert , for his first pro TD catch, and rookie WR Arian Smith, for his first pro catch and fourth-down conversion, against Buffalo. But don't overlook second-year DL trade acquisition Jowon Briggs, who got his first pro sack. Yes, it was only for 1 yard, but they count, especially when you take the elusive Josh Allen to the turf. In fact, Briggs had the Jets' only sack of Allen in their last two games vs. the Bills.
Briggs also had the solo tackle at the line on the keeper that sent Allen to the bench for a few plays, and he forced a James Cook fumble that the Bills recovered.
But the defense also forced the QB into two intentional-grounding penalties, the most suffered by an opposing QB in a game against the Jets since at least 1997. They're not sacks but they're just as good with the loss of yardage and loss of down.
So we'll note in our penalty spreadsheet that those two IGs were caused by Will McDonald IV in the first quarter (with Braiden McGregor also in pursuit of No. 17 on the rollout) and Leonard Taylor III in the fourth (crashing the A-gap to force the second illegal throw-away).
Tyrod's Relief Excellence
We know Tyrod Taylor's numbers with the Green & White have all come in endgame duty, but what Taylor has achieved as the primary backup the last two seasons is still interesting and shows that TT has what it takes when the Jets have to spell R-E-L-I-E-F.
Last year Taylor came on in relief of Aaron Rodgers in two games and led the Jets on touchdowns in all three of his drives. In for Justin Fields against the Bills, his offense was finally stopped on his first drive but he engineered the 10-play, 54-yard march to the Jets' only touchdown late in the game.
So as a Jet, Taylor has 4 TD series in 5 opportunities, an 80% TD drive rate that (in a limited sampling size, to be sure) is unofficially the best by any NFL QB with at least 5 career drives from 1997 to present. As for his stat line in those games, it's also sharp: 24-of-33, 72.7% accuracy, 175 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 124.4 passer rating, plus 6 carries for 34 yards at 5.8 yards/rush.
Snaps Count
A quick look at the Jets' snap-count leaders after two games. MLB Jamien Sherwood not surprisingly has come off the field the least among all players — he leads the team with 143 total snaps (including 12 on special teams) and is tied for the defensive-snaps lead with LB Quincy Williams, S Andre Cisco and CB Brandon Stephens at 131. And naturally, Sherwood leads the D with 19 tackles, tied for 11th in the NFL through two weeks.
Other snap-count leaders: Offense — tackles Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou, G Joe Tippmann and C Josh Myers, all at 111 (with G John Simpson one off the joint leadership at 110). Special teams — LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball at 52, trailed by Qwan'tez Stiggers and rookie LB Kiko Mauigoa at 51.
And the complete '25 draft class play counts after two games — Membou (111 offense, 7 ST), TE Mason Taylor (90 offense), CB Azareye'h Thomas (19 defense, 5 ST), WR Smith (28 offense, 11 ST), S Malachi Moore (49 defense, 43 ST), Mauigoa (13 defense, 51 ST) and DL Tyler Baron (7 defense, 7 ST).
