Jets 31, Bills 27: Dick Jauron and J.P. Losman Play Santa and Elf

Right after J.P. Losman fumbled away a Bills win with just over two minutes left in a game they were winning 27-24, FanHouser Shane Bacon emailed to remind that a cardinal rule of quarterbacking was to throw the ball away when you've got nothing.

It was a sound point. Losman was scrambling when Abram Elam hit him from behind, causing a fumble that Shaun Ellis returned for a touchdown, but there was another rule that loomed large. Somewhere in the big book of coaching rules, it states that one shall not let J.P. Losman try to win a game unless there's absolutely no other hope.

Dick Jauron will likely have plenty of time to review that rule when the Bills fire him in a couple of weeks. His team finally showed up to play, no small thing given their recent efforts, on Sunday, but Jauron removed all hope of a win by calling for a pass. It was second-and-five, the two minute warning would follow the play and the Jets had just two timeouts. And the Bills had run for 187 yards to that point in the game!

To his credit, Jauron took full responsibility after the game.


It's nice to hear that honesty. We'll see if it's enough to quiet the swirling rumors about the status of his job.

The 187 yards were the most the Jets had given up all season, and the last Bills drive ended in a touchdown when Fred Jackson dragged several Jets into the end zone. Marshawn Lynch had more runs blown dead because eight Jets surrounded him stopping his progress than ended with a tackle. Yet Jauron chose to pass. I guess he truly believes it is better to give than to receive.

Elam made a nice play, just about the only one the Jets defense made up to that point, and Darrelle Revis intercepted Losman on the first play of the ensuing Bills drive. Those two plays bailed out a Jets team that continues to bear only a passing resemblance to the one that won five straight games and ended Tennessee's bid for an undefeated season.

The offense was stagnant after scoring touchdowns on their first two drives. The only sign of life after that was a 47-yard run by team MVP Leon Washington. In a sign that the team's offensive playcalling is dysfunctional, it was Washington's only carry of the game. Brett Favre threw a pair of picks, the special teams were gashed for long returns all day and, most damning, Kris Jenkins was a non-factor.

Jenkins dominated the first Buffalo win by controlling the middle of the line. He was pushed around today and he's either hurt, tired or both. That's a bad sign for a Jet team that needed a major stroke of luck to keep their playoff hopes alive this afternoon, especially since the beneficient Jauron won't coach against them again this season.