My Ticket My Story: Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets Week 1 of the 2019 Season
For Concrete New York’s first edition of the My Ticket My Story Series, we take you back to Opening Day of the 2019 Football Season. Ben Jacob, Ben Diamond, and Matt Batista relive their memories from what would turn out to be an unforgettable game for all the wrong reasons.
BJ: Throughout the 2019 offseason, Jets fans expectations started to rise for a number of reasons. The soon-to-be-ousted GM made two key additions to each side of the ball in Le’Veon Bell and C.J. Mosley, and towards the end of his rookie year Sam Darnold gave fans a glimpse at his potential. His three game stretch after returning from injury in Week 14 was highlighted by defeating the Bills at Buffalo on a game-winning drive and playing up to par with two of the best QB’s in the league in Deshaun Watson and Aaron Rodgers. The reports out of training camp were encouraging, with many talking about how Darnold looked great.
During the preseason games, the first team offense even looked good, with some impressive opening drives (this would become a theme in the regular season, but not in an entirely good way). Some fans even started to think that the Gase hire, which most hated from the start, could actually work out.
BD: If you’re looking for proof that the offseason tricked any fans into thinking the team was about to make noise in the 2019 season, look no further then us going to the FanDuel Sports Book in East Rutherford just weeks before the home opener. I took the plunge and placed a future bet on the Jets making the playoffs. I was sipping the green Kool-aid, for sure!
MB: On game day, we pulled up to the stadium to start our tailgate and there was a large presence from the Bills mafia. They showed out to support their squad, which deserves some respect, however seeing all of the Josh Allen #17 jerseys was just going to make the game that much more enjoyable (we thought) because of the faith we had in Darnold. Drinks were had, footballs were tossed, and our Opening Day optimism was evident from many of the lines we spewed that Sunday morning.
“You know, a lot of people say our weapons aren’t great but Robby Anderson, Jamison Crowder, and Quincy Enunwa are a nice mix for Darnold.”
“Le’Veon is going to have fresh legs and he’ll be a safety blanket for Darnold.”
“It will at least be nice this year to have a fun offense to root for.”
“Our corners are shaky, but with C.J. Mosley, Jamal Adams and Quinnen Williams up the middle our defense might be pretty nice.”
“Matt Khalil is a solid late offseason signing to solidify a respectable offensive line.”
BJ: Many things were said that, in hindsight, can only be labeled as blind faith. As our naïveté was showing, we started to talk with a fellow Jets fan nearby; there was one fan that older and wiser and he told us the following about our belief in Darnold saving the franchise. “I’ve heard this over and over, yeah Darnold may look good, but don’t have your hopes too high.” We respected the sage piece of advice, but those weren’t the opening day vibes we were looking for, so we kept going with our predictions and hyperboles.
BD: This game was my first professional regular season Jets game, so I was really excited to experience a day at MetLife Stadium. I had been to a couple Jets preseason games before but I knew the energy would be totally different, especially for a season opener that was brimming with so much optimism. Being in the parking lot and seeing so many different types of tailgates going on, with all the pageantry in full force, was really cool to be a part of. I was especially glad that not only was I sharing the game day experience with Ben and Matt but Matt’s dad, Marcio, who’s loved the Jets ever since he immigrated to New York from Brazil! He was also serving as our designated driver, so that was much appreciated from Mr. Batista. Always drink responsibly, folks.
BJ: Once we got to our seats, we were ready to roll. The flags (that the Jets gave out for opening day) were flying, and we were ready for the “new era” of Jets football.
The game started according to script, on the opening drive Josh Allen had his first bout of fumblitis. Then, following a failed opening drive for us, we got a glimpse at the defensive star that we signed over the off-season. Off of a deflected ball, Mosley intercepted Allen and walked in easily for the first score of the game. The stadium was going nuts and many words were said to the Bills fans in front of us. The crowd was going so crazy that we didn’t even give too much attention to the fact that our kicker missed the PAT. Whenever something like that happens, there’s always a look you give your friends which pretty much says “I hope we don’t have to worry about that down the line, but that might screw us over by the end of the game.” But, we moved on and remained optimistic. As our offense continued to stall, the defense was more than making up for things with two more turnovers in the first half. The fourth turnover being a deflected interception right at midfield, a perfect gift for Darnold and the offense to head into the second half with a score. Lining up for a field goal before halftime, Kaare Vedvik missed the kick and the half ended 6-0. This is when the doubt starts to creep in. Yes, we still had the lead, but we left 4 points on the board because our kicker sucked our offense hasn’t been what we expected compared to all of the talk in the offseason and those preseason first drives. I remember waiting in line at concessions at halftime and seeing the same look on Jets fans faces that I had which was, “we are gonna fuck this up, aren’t we?”
BD: My boss at the time was at the game with his wife and they are die-hard Bills fans, and we had been texting back and forth about trying to meet up during halftime. Well, the game was much too close, and already bad vibes were starting to creep in thanks to our kicker failing to do his job. I decided it’d be better for the sake of the team if I stuck with just Jets fans during the game, and told my boss that “he’d owe me a beer when Gang Green held on for the victory.”
BJ: At the start of the second half, it was the same story with our offense stalling and the defense balling us out, this time with a forced safety to put us up 8-0. And then the drive that we were waiting for took place, mixing in dump off’s to Crowder, then a sideline pass to Bell, followed by a great route on 3rd and goal to Bell to put us up 14-0. It was a relief to see the offense produce.
The ensuing 2-point conversion was as special as they come. Reminiscent of his go-ahead touchdown against the Bills the previous season, Darnold rolled out to his right and avoided the oncoming pressure with a spin move, however this time around he threw one up to the corner of the end zone as Bell jumped over the outstretched arms of the Bills defender to put the Jets up 16-0. There it was, with 7:01 left in the 3rd quarter, our optimism felt validated. C.J. Mosley looked like the best defensive player we had seen since Revis, Bell had shown his unique skill set as a gifted rusher and a reliable catcher out of the backfield, and Darnold was on a different level than the turnover-prone Allen. And just like that, after being on top of the world, things fell apart.
MB: As a Jets fan you are always conditioned to expect things to take a turn for the worst no matter how well it may appear to be going. The fan base has seen this movie thousands of times, as it is a nightmare that's ingrained in the collective Jet’s fans cerebellum. Throughout the game the whole stadium sensed that the four points left on the table because of the incompetence of Kaare Vedvik who the team actually traded draft compensation for, would rear its ugly head. The turning point of the game was when C.J. Mosley made an unbelievable play late in the third quarter on a deep ball from Allen to John Brown. After the diving effort Mosley was visibly in pain as he gimped and gingerly walked over to the sideline. Initially the injury seemed like a quick substitution just to catch his breath before running back out there to quarterback the defense. Boy, that assumption was a tragic mistake as Mosley never saw the field again that day, and was basically lost for the year. After his departure, the game for the green and white went downhill faster than world record holder Mikaela Shiffrin would on the slopes. Devin Singletary ran wild, accumulating 70 yards on the ground on a mere four carries, shaking and baking Jets defenders along the way. He was the catalyst for Buffalo’s comeback as Gregg Williams had no answer for the rookie. The second half felt like death by a thousand knife wounds, each and every play made Jet fans sink further in their seat and reach for the proverbial brown paper bag. The dagger to the heart was on 3rd and 4 from the Jets 40-yard-line, when Allen uncorked a back shoulder bomb to Brown for a touchdown and the eventual lead. Bills Mafia took over MetLife Stadium with loud cries of, “Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills”. The Jets had once again crushed the spirit of the fanbase with an excruciating loss to a divisional foe and further lived up to the long standing slogan of the “same old Jets.”
BJ: After the game, we ran into our wise friend that gave use the advice during the tailgate; he looked at us and gave us a very simple “what did I tell you guys?” and that’s all that was needed to be said. The car ride back was pretty quiet. I mean, what do you really say after a loss like that? It really did feel like a season that was lost in one game, which turned out to be somewhat true. We would later learn about the Sam Darnold mono fiasco, C.J. Mosley being injured for the year, and our expectations for the season that made the tailgate at Metlife Stadium so special, never came to fruition.
As we head into this upcoming season, we start against the Bills once again. Some things still hold true; collectively as Jets fans, we still believe that we have the better quarterback at the helm. We are still supportive of some key additions that we made in the 2019 offseason like Le’Veon Bell and Jamison Crowder, and most of the fan base still feels pretty good about Joe Douglas and how he is building for the future. On the other hand, any optimism that existed from preseason first drives with Adam Gase is gone, as many fans wish he got fired already (three of us included). In a general sense, it seems like Jets fans expectations are rightfully lower this year. The sentiment around the team seems to be the following: we are starting to develop a young core that we feel better about then other times in the recent past, we have cap flexibility and draft capital (although that feels like the grasp of hope we always attach ourselves to), and most importantly the majority of the fan base still believes in Sam Darnold. And that’s really what this season boils down to: can Darnold, lack of weapons and inadequate coaching staff aside, take the step to prove that he is the leader of the organization? Only time will tell.