For Aaron Glenn, every game holds equal significance. “They all mean the same to me,” the Jets coach mentioned before the match-up with the Buffalo Bills.

No single game impacts a team’s standings more than another; each result simply contributes a mark under wins or losses. As it stands, the Jets hold a 0-2 record. However, these two defeats show how different losses can feel in their impact.

Last Sunday, the Jets exited MetLife Stadium with mixed feelings of optimism and disappointment. They suffered a close defeat against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was hard to swallow.

But there was plenty in that performance, particularly in the poise and promise of quarterback Justin Fields, to sow seeds of optimism for this new regime.

Four quarters later? All of the bullishness and expectation had been eroded, replaced by a few old friends: Resignation. Despair. Frustration.

This was a brutal watch. Boos rang out around MetLife Stadium as the Bills dismantled the Jets 30-10. Most damning of all? Josh Allen barely got out of second gear. He didn’t register a rushing touchdown or a touchdown pass. He didn’t need to. After last week’s miracle comeback against the Ravens, James Cook led the way as Buffalo moved to 2-0 at a canter. 

The fourth quarter was three seconds old when Elijah Moore – a former Jets draft pick – scored his first Bills touchdown. sparked a mass exodus from MetLife.

That made it 29-3. At that point, Fields had completed just three passes and the Jets had amassed 87 yards all day. This was more like the New York of old. And by the end, Fields was off the field after suffering a concussion. Injury piled on top of insult. 

Glenn predicted this would come down to will. If the Jets could ‘out-will’ Allen, they would win. Alas, effort wasn’t really the problem. What proved more critical? The penalties, one fumble, one malfunctioning offense and all the missed tackles.

Last season, the Jets never amassed fewer than 207 yards in a single game. Here, they managed just 154, with 54 of those coming on their final drive – when Tyrod Taylor was under center.

‘It’s not OK to lose like that,’ Glenn said. ‘I just told the players: first off, I have to look at myself, I want to look at every player and every coach. 

‘There’s no stone that will go unturned without figuring out the issue. But I do know this and I told the guys this – I’ve been here before, with two teams. In New Orleans and Detroit. The one thing we’re not going to do is waver. Not one bit.’

But, for the first time since 2021, the Jets have started a season 0-2 and Glenn’s first AFC East game was a mauling. A reminder: the Jets have not won this division in more than two decades. On this evidence? That run will go on.

The question in the wake of last week’s loss was simple: was that offensive performance, that composed and controlled debut from Fields, yet another false dawn? Or the first steps into a promising new era?

The Bills were always likely to provide a better acid test of progress and, for New York, the early signs could hardly have been more ominous. 

First the Jets went backwards – their opening drive of the day brought a total of negative one yards. And then Allen had them backpedaling once more.

From deep inside his own half, the Bills quarterback hopped over one defender, slipped past another and then set off towards a giant hole. Allen made it 40 yards before eventually being forced out of bounds.

A few plays later, the Jets thought they had muzzled the Bills quarterback. Allen ran into trouble and was penalized for intentional grounding. But then at 3rd and 19, he received a helping hand: Micheal Clemons roughed the passer, the Bills moved 15 yards upfield and before long Cook was in the end zone. 

Glenn warned his players last week that costly errors would not be tolerated. ‘You will not be on the field with this team if you’re going to cause us to lose games,’ he said following Xavier Gipson’s crucial turnover against the Steelers. Gipson was released a few days later. 

The same fate will not befall Clemons. Or Fields, who fumbled the ball on the very first play of the next drive. But early on here, mistakes killed the Jets – on both sides of the ball. The first boos of the afternoon rang out early in the second quarter.

By then, the Bills led 13-0 – thanks in no small part to three Jets penalties (a couple more were declined). By then, Fields was one from four for 18 yards. By then, the Jets had progressed 13 yards in 12 plays over four drives. Three of those drives accounted for a combined negative seven yards.

The only solace? They had at least given Allen a bloody nose. The Bills quarterback was briefly forced out of the game after a nasty blow to the face. 

But it felt rather  fitting that backup Mitchell Trubisky’s first pass went for 32 yards. That’s more than Fields managed all day.

The Jets did get on the board with a 51-yard field goal from Nick Folk. But not before Cook ran for a 44-yard score to compound their misery. 

All of the life had been sucked out of this place by the time Moore extended the Bills’ advantage. The Jets found a consolation with a few minutes remaining – backup Taylor found tight end Jeremy Ruckert. It’s just a shame barely anyone was here to see it.