The Mike White Era was fun while it lasted. The storybook is over.
The Jets backup quarterback sensation turned back into a pumpkin on Sunday in a 45-17 loss to the Bills at MetLife Stadium. White threw four interceptions and ended any debate about who should be the Jets starting quarterback when rookie Zach Wilson is healthy.
White looked nothing like the quarterback he was against the Bengals two weeks ago when he threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns. The Bills showed why they have the top-rated defense in the NFL by confusing White all day and ending his brief star turn here in New York.
The Jets kept it close in the first half and cut the score to 10-3 with 1:57 left in the second quarter, but then the game got away from them. The Bills answered that field goal with a 75-yard touchdown drive on five plays. The big play was a 57-yard pass from Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs with Diggs running a double move to beat Jets cornerback Brandin Echols. Diggs completed the drive with a 12-yard touchdown, beating Javelin Guidry, who had replaced an injured Echols.
Diggs’ touchdown made it 17-3 with 57 seconds left in the half. The Jets had a chance to at least get a field goal before halftime but Corey Davis fumbled at the Bills’ 27 after a 28-yard reception that would have set the Jets up in field goal range.
The Bills continued to pour it on in the third quarter, scoring three touchdowns in the quarter to stretch the lead to 38-3 entering the fourth quarter.
The Jets are now 2-7 with another division game coming next week against the Dolphins. The division-leading Bills improved to 6-3.
The Jets defense had another terrible game, allowing 30 points or more for the fourth straight game and another 400-yard game, their fifth in the last six games. It was the third time in four games they allowed 45 points or more. For long stretches of the game, Allen and Co. did whatever they pleased. Allen was 21-for-28 passing for 366 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. Diggs had eight catches for 162 yards and the touchdown. Gabriel Davis had 105 yards receiving on three catches.
It is hard to determine which was worse — the Jets defense or the offense. The Jets did not reach the end zone until there was 11:58 left in the game. The Jets turned the ball over five times.
White’s first interception came after his arm was hit by defensive end Efe Obada, who beat right guard Greg Van Roten and forced an errant throw from White that was intercepted by Taron Johnson. The turnover led to a 29-yard Tyler Bass field goal and a 10-0 Bills lead in the first quarter. The Jets have been outscored 61-14 in the first quarter this season.
The Bills made it 24-3 on the first possession of the third quarter with wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie taking an end around 8 yards for the touchdown.
White then threw his second interception, this one on a deep shot intended for Elijah Moore and intercepted by Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White. Allen hit a wide open Davis for a 49-yard gain and then Matt Breida scored his second touchdown of the day, this one a 15-yard run, to push the lead to 31-3.
White served up another interception on the next possession. This one was a terrible decision by White and a pass that went right to Bills cornerback Levi Wallace. Four plays later, Zack Moss scored a 1-yard touchdown and the Bills had a 38-3 lead.
The Bills were not done embarrassing White and the Jets, though. Jordan Poyer intercepted a deep pass by White, his third interception of the quarter and fourth of the day.
The Jets tacked on two meaningless fourth-quarter touchdowns by rookies Michael Carter and Elijah Moore, who caught his touchdown pass from Joe Flacco, who replaced an injured White late in the game.
This was White’s third start for the Jets and could be his last. Wilson, who suffered a sprained PCL in his right knee on Oct. 24 against the Patriots, practiced fully on Friday and should be healthy enough to start against the Dolphins. Coach Robert Saleh left the door open last week to White starting even when Wilson was fully healthy, but that seems like a debate the Jets no longer have to have.
Saleh and his coaching staff need to figure out how to stop getting embarrassed in games. They lost 54-13 to the Patriots last month and then 45-30 to the Colts last week in a game that was not as close as the score indicates. Then Sunday, the Bills, who were coming off a 9-6 loss to the Jaguars, humiliated the Jets at home.