Joe Flacco signs one-year deal with New York Jets to compete for backup job behind Sam Darnold

The former Super Bowl MVP is heading to New York

Two-time Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams requests trade from the Jets, per report

The relationship between player and team has turned toxic

JETS LIED, RELATIONSHIP WITH ADAMS DIED!!!!

AGREED!

IMPEACH WOODY JOHNSON!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills got the season off to a throwing start.

In overseeing three consecutive first-half touchdown drives, Allen became Buffalo's first quarterback to top 300 yards passing in nearly three-plus years in a 27-17 season-opening win over the New York Jets on Sunday.

The Bills overcame injuries to two starting linebackers, while Allen overcame his own sloppiness in picking apart a rebuilt Jets secondary after star safety Jamal Adams forced his trade to Seattle this offseason.

"We wanted to start off and get the ball into our playmakers' hands outside and let them do their thing," Allen said. "But we still have to find more ways to get into the end zone. We left too many points out there. I take that responsibility on myself."

Allen was referring to losing two fumbles in the first half, both times inside Jets territory.

Blemishes aside, Allen spread the ball to his upgraded group of receivers, which now features the addition of Stefon Diggs, in finishing 33 of 46 for 312 yards with two touchdowns, plus another one rushing. Tyrod Taylor, Allen's predecessor, had 329 yards passing in a overtime loss to Miami on Dec. 24, 2016.,

Diggs had eight catches for a team-leading 86 yards in his Bills debut after being acquired in a trade with Minnesota in March. John Brown had six catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Buffalo's defense was a force despite losing Matt Milano to a hamstring injury in the second quarter, and after the outside linebacker intercepted Sam Darnold's weak pass over the middle. Middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds did not return after hurting his shoulder while trying to tackle Jets receiver Jamison Crowder, who scored on a 69-yard touchdown catch and run, which briefly cut Buffalo's lead to 21-10 with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

The Bills defense, however, came through on New York's next possession. Safety Jordan Poyer stripped the ball from tight end Chris Herndon, and the fumble was recovered by Jerry Hughes at the Jets 38 two plays into the fourth quarter.

The turnover led to Tyler Bass hitting a 22-yard field goal -- after the rookie missed his first two attempts wide right.

Coach Sean McDermott was unable to provide any updates on his injured players, but was impressed how the Bills persevered through injuries, turnovers, and Bass' inconsistencies.

"We'll see what happens this week. We hope and pray we get them back," McDermott said of Milano and Edmunds.

"There's going to be adversity like there was today, whether it was injuries or change of momentum," he added. "And I think we've learned that we've got to continue to push through and I thought our team did that today."

Very little went right for the Jets, who opened with three three-and-outs, combined for 23 yards of offense and one first down on their first five possessions, and trailed 21-0 before the game was 25 minutes old.

"It was about as bad of a start offensively as we could've had," caoch Adam Gase said. "We just really did not play well. It's disappointing in the aspect that, just watching the guys work all week and the excitement level coming into this game. We've got a lot to work on. We've got a lot of things we've got to get fixed."

Darnold finished 21 of 35 for 215 yards, with a touchdown and an interception in a matchup of two of the five quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2017 draft. Crowder had seven catches for 117 yards. Josh Adams scored on a 2-yard plunge in the final minute.

"I've got to be better and we've got to execute better. It's as simple as that," said Darnold, who opened hitting just four of his 10 first attempts for 22 yards.

The Jets finished without starting running back Le'Veon Bell (hamstring) and linebacker Blake Cashman (groin).

New York resembled the team that opened 1-7 last season -- a stretch that began with the Jets squandering a 16-0 lead at home in a 17-16 loss to the Bills -- as opposed to the one that closed 6-2, including a season-ending 13-6 win at Buffalo in a game the playoff-bound Bills rested most of their starters.

Ball-handling aside, Allen showed continued signs of development, which was particularly evident on his 17-yard touchdown pass to Brown, which put the Bills up 21-0.

Allen made an audible after seeing Jets cornerback Pierre Desir playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage opposite Brown. Allen threw a quick low pass, which was scooped up by Brown, who then cut into the middle for the score.

ANTHEM

The Bills and Jets remained in their locker rooms for the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner."

NO FANS

The numerous Bills and private parking lots around the stadium -- some which usual begin filling up two days before a home-opening kickoff -- were completely empty. The Bills barred fans from tailgating, and Orchard Park declined to provide business licenses to private operators.

Inside Bills Stadium, the first seven rows from the field were covered in blue tarp and featured logos of team sponsors. A slogan printed on the tarps on each side of midfield read: "Bills family honors those on the front lines."

Very little crowd noise was being pumped in, and players could be heard yelling out calls and checks could be heard echoing through the empty stadium.

UP NEXT

Jets: Host San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 20.

Bills: At Miami Dolphins on Sept. 20.

49ers blast Jets 31-13, but lose Garoppolo, Bosa, Mostert

• AP
• Sep 21, 2020

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) The injury carts rolled out twice in three plays and the 49ers lost a few more key players. Still, short-handed San Francisco had enough to beat the inept New York Jets.

And it wasn't even close.

Raheem Mostert ran for an 80-yard touchdown on San Francisco's first play from scrimmage and Jimmy Garoppolo threw two TD passes - before both players sat out the second half with injuries - to lead the banged-up 49ers to a 31-13 victory Sunday.

''When you have key players like those guys keep going down, we all gathered in the huddle and talked about how we have to play for them,'' linebacker Fred Warner said. ''We played for them and made sure that we stayed locked in.''

It was a costly victory for San Francisco, which was already hurting in a big way before losing Garoppolo to a high ankle sprain and Mostert to an injured knee. Defensive end Nick Bosa and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas were both carted off the field two plays apart with left knee injuries in the first quarter.

The fear is it could be a season-ending ACL injury for Bosa, who'll have tests Monday. So will Thomas, although 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said there's a better chance for him it's not as serious an ACL injury. Shanahan didn't seem as concerned about the knee injuries for Mostert and fellow running back Tevin Coleman, who also left the game.

''You have a little mixed emotions when you lose some guys like that,'' Shanahan said. ''When you do lose some good guys like we did, that'll probably be for a while, we need guys to get better.''

Shanahan and the 49ers said the new artificial turf at MetLife Stadium - where they'll play the Giants next week - might have played a role in some of the injuries.

''I know that's as many knee injuries and ankle stuff and people getting caught on a turf as I've ever been a part of,'' Shanahan said. ''From what I saw, the other team did, too. I know our players talked about it the entire game, just how sticky the turf was.''

The 49ers (1-1) also came in without star tight end George Kittle (knee), wide receiver Deebo Samuel (foot), cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) and defensive end Dee Ford (neck).

It didn't matter against the Jets (0-2), who have also been hit hard by injuries and couldn't muster much.

''We did not play the game we needed to play,'' coach Adam Gase said.

QUICK BUT PAINFUL START

The 49ers got going early. Mostert took a handoff on the first play, zipped outside and took off down the right sideline untouched for an 80-yard score.

The strange silence of the eerily empty MetLife Stadium - without anyone in the stands because of the coronavirus pandemic - surely mirrored what it would have sounded like if stunned Jets fans were in attendance.

Garoppolo was injured on the 49ers' next drive when he was sacked by Quinnen Williams. The quarterback went down awkwardly and needed his right ankle taped, but he remained in the game - until halftime.

Things got a lot worse for the 49ers a few minutes later.

Bosa, last season's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, was carted off the field after his left leg bent behind him at the end of a 4-yard run by Frank Gore with 6:22 left in the first quarter.

Two plays later, Thomas was carted off - also with a left knee injury - after an 8-yard reception by Chris Hogan.

Sam Ficken's 41-yard field goal cut the deficit to 7-3 for the Jets, but Garoppolo - limping noticeably - drove the 49ers for another TD.

Mostert nearly had another long score on the second play of the drive, but his 67-yard scamper was wiped out by a holding penalty on tackle Mike McGlinchey. San Francisco ended the 14-play possession with an 18-yard catch by Jordan Reed for the first of his two TD grabs.

Garoppolo was 14 of 16 for 131 yards and the two TDs before being replaced by Nick Mullens.

The 49ers started slowly on Mullens' first drive, but Jerick McKinnon had a 55-yard run on third-and-31. The last team to convert a third down that long on a run was Minnesota on Leroy Hoard's 53-yard scamper on third-and-37 against Denver in 1999.

''We were embarrassed,'' Jets linebacker Jordan Jenkins said.

STATS

Sam Darnold threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Braxton Berrios with 1:23 remaining. He was 21 of 32 for 179 yards and no turnovers. ... Mullens finished 8 of 11 for 71 yards and an interception. ... San Francisco wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, a first-round draft pick, had two catches for 21 yards in his NFL debut. ... New York rookie running back La'Mical Perine rushed for 17 yards on three carries in his first game.

LOTS OF GORE

Playing against the team that drafted him in 2005, Gore had 63 yards on 21 attempts while carrying the load in the backfield for the Jets with Le'Veon Bell on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. The 37-year-old, who played 10 seasons for San Francisco, became the oldest running back in NFL history with 20 or more carries in a game.

INJURIES

New York played the second half without wide receiver Breshad Perriman (ankle) and cornerback Quincy Wilson (concussion). Center Connor McGovern (hamstring) and cornerback Arthur Maulet (groin) were injured in the fourth period.

ANTHEM

The Jets remained in the locker room during the playing of the national anthem, as they did last week. The 49ers stood together on the sideline as wide receiver Kendrick Bourne had his left fist raised.

UP NEXT

49ers: return to MetLife Stadium next Sunday to take on the Giants.

Jets: at Indianapolis to face the Colts next Sunday.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO THE JETS, LOSERS OF THE FIRST EVER MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME ON THIS DATE IN 1970!!!

Colts defense, Rivers come up big as Colts ground Jets 36-7

• AP
• Sep 27, 2020

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Xavier Rhodes delivered the first punch for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

T.J. Carrie finished it off on a milestone day for Philip Rivers.

Rhodes and Carrie each returned an interception for a touchdown, Indianapolis recorded its second safety in as many weeks and Rivers added his 400th career TD pass as the Colts routed the New York Jets 36-7. It's the first time since October 1970 the Colts returned two INTs for scores in one game. The last time it happened also came against the Jets.

Rivers, meanwhile, played like his old self, getting rid of the ball quickly and crisply while avoiding mistakes on a milestone day.

The 38-year-old quarterback was 17 of 21 with 217 yards and played his first turnover-free game since joining Indy (2-1). He became the sixth player in league history to throw 400 career TD passes and the sixth to top 60,000 yards. He also passed Hall of Famer Dan Marino for fifth all-time in completions and broke a tie with Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton for eighth in league history with his 125th career win.

Rivers now has exactly 400 TDs, 60,065 yards, 4,980 completions.

And with the help of a suddenly high-scoring defense, Rivers & Co. made it look easy against the winless Jets. New York is 0-3 for the second consecutive season under coach Adam Gase.

Rhodes picked off Darnold on the fifth play of the game and returned it 44 yards to make it 7-0. Darnold answered with a 16-yard TD pass to Braxton Berrios to tie it midway through the first quarter.

Then, it was all Colts.

After a pass interference call against the Jets in the end zone, Rivers found Mo Alie-Cox for a 1-yard score to give the Colts a 14-7 lead. Rodrigo Blankenship extended the halftime lead to 17-7 with a 42-yard field goal. Jonathan Taylor's 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal gave Indy a 24-7 lead in the third and Carrie's 47-yard interception return on the final play of the quarter sealed it.

Darnold was 17 of 27 with 168 yards, one TD and three interceptions.

INJURIES

Jets: New York opened the game without starting receivers Breshad Perriman and Jamison Crowder, or right tackle George Fant. All three were inactive. Left tackle Mekhi Becton left in the first half with an injured shoulder and did not return. Linebacker Jordan Willis and safety Bradley McDougald got hurt in the fourth quarter.

Colts: Starting cornerback Rock Ya-Sin missed his second straight game with a non-football related stomach illness and rookie receiver Michael Pittman injured his ankle in the first half but returned later.

STAT PACK

Jets: Ran the first 19 plays of the game, holding the ball for nearly 10 minutes. ... New York had 188 yards of offense in the first half against the league's No. 1 defense but finished with 260. ... Frank Gore ran 15 times for 57 yards against his former team. ... Kalen Ballage caught five passes for 44 yards to lead the Jets. ... Darnold's quarterback rating was 53.2

Colts: Rhodes had two interceptions, one more than his total from the previous two seasons. ... Alie-Cox finished with three catches for 50 yards. T.Y. Hilton had three receptions for 52 yards. ... Taylor ran 13 times for 59 yards. ... Team officials announced 7,480 tickets were distributed. Indy has played in front of fans all three weeks.

UP NEXT

Jets: Hope to snap a three-game losing streak Thursday when Denver visits.

Colts: Will try to win in Chicago for the first time since 2004 next Sunday.

This latest update will be no surprise to regular readers of this feature, but the New York Jets have lost another game, falling to the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football by a final score of 37-28 as the Broncos' QB Brett Rypien made his first start a winner. Jets will probably play another game next week against a legitimate NFL team, so things are not looking up for them.

More JETS news!!!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/jets-chiefs-could-have-largest-point-spread-in-nfl-history/ar-BB19ElOQ?li=BBnb7Kz

New York Jets QB Sam Darnold out with shoulder injury; Joe Flacco to start vs. Cardinals

EAST RUTHERFORD — The New York Jets got a key player back on Sunday. They had a backup quarterback on the field that they specifically signed because he would give them a chance to win if he ever needed to play. And they faced an Arizona Cardinals team that continued to struggle.

But none of it mattered. The Jets weren’t good enough to stay in the game, even in their own building.

The Cardinals cruised past the Jets 30-10 at MetLife Stadium, as New York fell to 0-5, further turning up the pressure on embattled coach Adam Gase.

It's the first time the Jets have gone winless in their first five games since 1996, when Rich Kotite was the coach. The Jets finished that season 1-15 and more than two decades later, the mere mention of Kotite continues to evoke anger from Jets fans.

This year's team seems destined for a similar record and Gase for a similar place in Jets history: the Jets are 7-14 under Gase, with six losses by 20 points ore more. They've lost all of their games this season by at least two possessions.

"We've got to go back to work, we've got to learn from this film," Gase said. "We've got to figure out a way to play a full 60 minutes. We need all three phases playing well together. It's just like, one side's playing well, the other side's not.Then we finally started getting something going and then we fall apart on the other side. And we're just not giving ourselves a chance to be there in the end."

Starting quarterback Sam Darnold missed the game with a shoulder, but veteran quarterback Joe Flacco couldn’t do anything to spark the Jets offense, completing 18-of-35 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown.

Running back Le’Veon Bell returned, playing for the first time since injuring his hamstring in the season-opener. But he didn’t make much of a difference, gaining 60 yards on 13 carries.

The New York Jets' rocky relationship with Le'Veon Bell came to an abrupt end on Tuesday when the team announced it had released the running back.

It concluded a 19-month tenure that was filled with disappointment and broken promises. Bell, who arrived as a marquee free agent in 2019, never clicked with coach Adam Gase, who opposed the signing from the outset.

"After having conversations with Le'Veon and his agent and exploring potential trade options over the past couple of days, we have made the decision to release Le'Veon," the team said in a statement. "The Jets organization appreciates Le'Veon's efforts during his time here and we know he worked hard to make significant contributions to this team. We believe this decision is in the best interests of both parties and wish him future success."

As a vested veteran, Bell is not subject to waivers. He will be a free agent at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Bell shared his thoughts on Twitter shortly after the announcement when he tweeted the praying-hands emoji.