A statistical review of Monday Night Football: The Aaron Rodgers-less Jets deserved the Week 1 win

2RFJ4TG New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson throws a pass during the first half of the NFL exhibition Hall of Fame football game against the Cleveland Browns, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Canton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The New York Jets stunned the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, beating them 22-16 in overtime. Here is an initial statistical review of the game.

For more statistics, snap counts and PFF grades from Monday Night Football, check out PFF Premium Stats.

Game Summary

According to our new noise-canceled score metric, the Jets were the deserved winner of this low-scoring affair. Continuing the trend of Week 1, both offenses mightily struggled to move the ball.

The Jets got a huge boost from special teams, which obviously refers to the final punt return of the game, which rookie Xavier Gipson returned to score the walk-off touchdown.

Passing summary

Both passing offenses struggled in this game. Josh Allen showed his scrambling prowess, and the Jets were at least successful when Zach Wilson was able to get a throw off, but he didn’t manage to do just that often enough.

Receiving summary

The Bills had a similar problem as last year. Behind Stefon Diggs, they simply lack a very good secondary receiving option.

The combination of Josh Allen’s aggressiveness and the lack of a consistent No. 2 pass-catcher can sometimes result in the multi-interception performance we saw on Monday Night Football. 

Despite Aaron Rodgers leaving the game early, Allen Lazard — who played every Jets receiving snap — was their most impactful pass-catcher, even though Garrett Wilson earned more targets and caught a superb touchdown.

Rushing summary

Like in many of their wins last year, the Jets were a lot more successful on the ground than through the air.

On the opposite side of the ball, the Jets' defense was able to mostly shut down the Bills' ground game.

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