The Buffalo Bills suffered a painful loss to the New York Jets in their season opener on Monday, and the NFL may have put salt in their wounds on Saturday.
On September 16, the NFL released a list of all Week 1 fines, which included a missed call that may have affected the outcome of the Jets’ 22-16 overtime victory in their season opener on September 11.
The NFL fined Jets linebacker Chazz Surratt $4,833 for an illegal block on Bills tight end Quintin Morris in overtime, the league announced on Saturday. Morris was one of the last Bills defenders with a chance to stop rookie Xavier Gipson’s 65-yard punt return score, and he was one of them.
If the penalty had been called, the game-winning touchdown would have been nullified, and the Jets would have been penalized 15 yards. The Jets would have been pushed back to near the 40-yard line, yet still within field-goal range.
Other punishments from the Bills-Jets game included a $10,927 fine to Bills linebacker Matt Milano for taunting after his second-quarter interception. According to the Buffalo News, Jets linebacker Quincy Williams was also fined.”Williams received his first fine in the second quarter on a play in which he was not involved in the tackle.
“The video shows Williams diving at the knees of Bills left guard Connor McGovern to prevent McGovern from making his block,” according to the report. “Williams’ second fine was in the third quarter, when he hit Bills running back James Cook helmet-to-helmet after Cook caught a pass in the right flat.”Following their overtime loss to the Jets, the Bills did not appear to be hunting for excuses. The team’s four turnovers — three interceptions and a fumble, all committed by quarterback Josh Allen — were cited as the key reason for the loss by head coach Sean McDermott.
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“We made it pretty hard on ourselves,” McDermott remarked following the game, according to SI.com. “It’s difficult to win in this league when you turn the ball over four times.” You’re playing two opponents, one on the other sideline and yourself, as we did tonight. That is not the formula for winning games in the NFL…We humiliated ourselves.”
McDermott was also chastised for several of his selections in the loss, in which the Bills wasted a 10-point halftime lead and failed to capitalize on quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending injury just four plays into the game. According to Justin DiLoro of USA Today’s Bills Wire, the Bills’ play-calling was too conservative, and Allen’s play was too daring.
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“The clash of aggressive hero football and cautious coaching ultimately led to the Bills’ undoing in Week 1,” DiLoro wrote. “If this trend continues, Buffalo may not have to worry about securing a home postseason game.” If this is the Bills’ strategy in 2023, the unthinkable may happen, and Buffalo may not have to worry about the playoffs at all.”
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