Happy returns for Rex Ryan

They meet again in week 17 at Ralph Wilson Stadium, with the possibility of an AFC Wild Card spot on the line.

Bowles said after the game that he didn’t regret his fourth-down decision, but that there was a mix-up on the play.

“From the moment they hired him and he started ranting and raving, I was against his being the coach”.

Was this the sweetest victory of his career?

“No, not at all”, he said laughing.

That’s how Rex Ryan ended up able to revert to the guy Jets watchers had known for six years, and had mostly had their fill of by the time he was sacked after last season. All 32 teams will have a special color rush jersey and they’ll wear that jersey when they play on Thursday next year.

Bills linebacker Nigel Bradham laughed when he heard Ryan compared getting let go by the Jets to getting dumped by a hot girl. That’s really what it feels like.

The Goats: The Jets offense took a while to get going, and it cost them.

Rambo quickly got the ball back for Buffalo on the ensuing possession when he ripped it away from Ivory. This is his first head coaching job and it’s beginning to show.

The Bills defense picked off their former quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick twice and forced a fumble from Jets running back Chris Ivory. He quickly changed his mind and left the offense on the field.

THE FIRST WORD:The Rex Ryan Bowl hype was fun, but as always is the case, players are what matter most.

Bowles should have trusted his instincts. Take the points. There was still so much time left. At that point, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had completed just five of 17 pass attempts for 90 yards, with one interception. Ryan, who is supposed to be so gutsy, was afraid of the Jets’ defense. Defensive tackle Ego Ferguson became the second Chicago player in three days to be suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Typical Rex game mismanagement. The 250 words or so that every beat writer in attendance had already written didn’t have to be deleted, but new tabs were opened and another 150-ish words needed to be spun to tell an alternative story-one where Ryan’s mistake cost the Bills a game. Safety Bacarri Rambo pounced on it at the Jet 23-yard line before Dan Carpenter drilled his third field of the game to extend the Bills’ advantage to 22-3.

During the first quarter, Fitzpatrick threw a flawless pass to Brandon Marshall that hit Marshall right in the hands.

Yet on fourth down with 3 minutes and 7 seconds to play, Fitzpatrick looked to tight end Kellen Davis in the corner of the end zone and the two couldn’t connect.

Someone then asked a question as to how good the Mexican food will taste postgame, a reference to one of Ryan’s favorite restaurants, Red Cadillac in Union.

Ryan shoved it in the Jets’ faces last night. If he had kicked the first goal earlier in the fourth quarter, another field goal here would have won the game. The Jets were going to score a touchdown, take the lead and Buffalo was not going to score. When Ryan finally came on the field before the game, he was greeted by a few boos. Fans had burned him in effigy in the parking lot.

Ryan said he was shocked by the reaction when he named reserve defensive end IK Enemkpali a captain for the big night game at the Jets. We’re still working this thing and we still got half the season left. However, Thursday’s result doubly enhanced the Bills’ hopes of ending an NFL-long 15-year playoff drought while laying a twin blow to the postseason aspirations of the Jets, who lost for the third time in four games. The Patriots still sit at the top of the AFC East at a flawless 8-0, while the Dolphins are 3-5. Fitting for a Ryan vs. Todd Bowles games, perhaps.