Jeff Ulbrich loses Jets coaching debut in painful fashion

New coach. Same result.

The debut of Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich had some promising signs but it ended in familiar fashion. The Jets dropped their third straight game, a 23-20 flag-filled loss to the division rival Bills on Monday night at MetLife Stadium. The loss drops the Jets to 2-4 and two games behind the 4-2 Bills in the AFC East.

The Jets offense showed more signs of life than it has recently, rolling up 393 yards. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns, one on a Hail Mary before halftime.

In the end, though, Rodgers could not pull the game out, throwing an interception in the final two minutes, and he was not helped by kicker Greg Zuerlein’s missing two second-half field goal attempts.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns and made some spectacular throws. The Bills also ran for 149 yards.

The game ended a tumultuous week that began with owner Woody Johnson firing coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday, two days after the Jets lost to the Vikings in London. Ulbrich, the team’s defensive coordinator, was named interim coach and his first move was to take away play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and give them to passing game coordinator Todd Downing.

It was an ugly game that featured 22 total penalties, 11 on each team.

The Jets had a chance at a game-winning drive but penalties pushed them backward and then Rodgers’ third-down heave for Mike Williams was intercepted by Taron Johnson with 1:52 remaining.

The Bills took a 23-20 lead on a 22-yard field goal by Tyler Bass with 3:43 left in the game. The field goal was set up by a roughing the passer penalty on Jets defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw that put the ball on the Buffalo 9-yard line. Kinlaw was flagged three times on the series: the roughing the passer, he jumped into the neutral zone once and was given a personal foul for saying something to the officials after the field goal.

The Bills sealed the game with a 6-yard run by Allen to close it out.

The Jets opened the game with one of their best drives in weeks, but could not turn it into a touchdown. They went 54 yards on eight plays but Breece Hall dropped a third-down pass from Rodgers and they had to settle for a 34-yard field goal from Zuerlein.

The Bills cut through the Jets defense with ease on their first possession. Allen did not have to do much on the drive as the Jets struggled to stop the run even though top running back James Cook was inactive for Buffalo with a toe injury. They went 70 yards on nine plays, eight of them runs. The Bills did not even have a third down on the drive. Allen plunged in from the 1-yard line for the touchdown and the early 7-3 lead.

The Jets then answered with a beautiful nine-play, 70-yard drive of their own. Hall had a 24-yard run, as the Jets running game finally showed signs of life. The touchdown was a pretty 5-yard pass from Rodgers, who stepped up to extend the play, to Garrett Wilson in the back of the end zone. Wilson was barely inbounds and the Jets were up 10-7 in what felt like an offensive explosion after the last few weeks.

The Bills took a 13-10 lead with 6:54 left in the second quarter when Allen hit Mack Hollins for an 8-yard touchdown. The 10-play drive got started with a ridiculous 42-yard completion to running back Ray Davis. Allen was flushed to his right and flicked the ball down the field to Davis, who caught it over Quincy Williams.

Buffalo extended its lead to 20-10 just before halftime when Allen found Dawson Knox for a 12-yard touchdown. The drive was helped by two pass interference penalties by the Jets. One on D.J. Reed gave the Bills 23 yards and one by Tony Adams put the ball on the Jets’ 11-yard line.

It looked like the Bills would head into halftime with a 10-point lead but the Jets got the ball back with 21 seconds left at their own 30. After short completions to Tyler Conklin and Wilson, Rodgers showed his arm strength on a Hail Mary that Allen Lazard somehow came down with for the touchdown as time expired to cut the score to 20-17 at the break.

The Jets were able to tie the game at 20-20 with 6:17 left in the third quarter on a Zuerlein 22-yard field goal. While the Jets got points, it was disappointing for them not to reach the end zone after a 42-yard rush by Hall set them up at the Bills’ 3-yard line. But Rodgers threw an incompletion on first down, Hall was stuffed on second down and Rodgers and Wilson could not connect on third down.

That was not the last blown red zone chance. The next one was worse. The Jets again drove to the Bills’ 4-yard line and Braelon Allen appeared to score a touchdown but it was called back on a holding call against left tackle Tyron Smith. That set up a third-and-12 from the 14. Rodgers tried to hit Wilson in the back of the end zone again but safeties Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin sandwiched him as the ball got to him and it popped free.

The Jets still had the chance to take the lead on a 32-yard field goal by Zuerlein, but he hit the left upright.

Zuerlein missed another field goal with 9:44 left in the game. This one was a 43-yard attempt that also clanked off the left upright.