New York Jets & Buffalo Bills' Embarrassing Feat Not Seen in Nearly 40 Years

The New York Jets and Buffalo Bills played one of the sloppiest NFL games in recent memory.

Oct 14, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is sacked by Buffalo Bills defensive end AJ Epenesa. / Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

The New York Jets' 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 6 wasn't just painful -- it was also painful to watch.

The game featured numerous mistakes on both sides, including multiple missed kicks and a seemingly endless barrage of penalties. Nearly every play seemed to end with a yellow flag on the field and an announcement by the referees, grinding the game to a halt (especially in the second half).

It was by far the sloppiest game of the season and one of the ugliest in decades. In fact, the NFL hadn't seen a game like that in nearly 40 years.

Tonight's Bills-Jets game was the first NFL game where each team had 10+ penalties and missed multiple kicks (FG or XP) since October 18, 1987, when the Bills and Giants did so in a game played with replacement players during the strike.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 15, 2024

According to OptaSTATS, Monday's game was the first NFL contest since 1987 where both teams had double-digit penalties and multiple missed kicks.

Unlike Monday's game, however, that 1987 game -- which also featured the Bills along with the New York Giants -- was played by replacement players during the players' strike. They were not real NFL players, and it showed.

At least they had an excuse. New York and Buffalo have some of the best players in the league, but many of them had a bad night.

Both teams had 11 penalties accepted against them, not counting penalties that offset or were declined. Flags rained down on the field all night long, resulting in over 200 total penalty yards.

Both kickers struggled as well in the cold, windy conditions. Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed an extra point and shanked a field goal so badly that it never even had a chance.

Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein also missed a pair of kicks, clanging two go-ahead field-goal attempts off the uprights in the second half, including a 32-yard chip shot.

It remains tied after another Jets missed field goal.

📺: #BUFvsNYJ on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/lh8up42Mx1

— NFL (@NFL) October 15, 2024

With so many miscues on both sides, the game came down to which team made fewer of them. That ended up being Buffalo, which didn't turn the ball over.

Aaron Rodgers did, however, committing the game's only turnover. He threw another interception (his fourth in his last two games) on his final pass of the game that sealed New York's fate late in the fourth quarter.

It wasn't pretty, but the Bills got the win, improving to 4-2. The Jets, on the other hand, sunk to 2-4 with their third straight loss.

If New York wants to snap its losing streak against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football this weekend, Rodgers & Co. will need to make far fewer errors, especially against Mike Tomlin's stingy defense.