The Buffalo Bills pulled off a chaotic victory in the chaotic Meadowlands

Regardless of the outcome, the Buffalo Bills were able to pick up a very important win over the New York Jets in Week 6. The Bills had to end a two-game losing streak that had spiraled out of control against tough AFC opponents. The importance of establishing your own two-game lead over your nearest AFC East rival at the start of the season cannot be overstated.

We can't know for sure how the evening would have gone if none of the missed kicks had occurred, but the most damaging lost points belonged to the Jets. Teams facing the Bills are often quick to point out that self-inflicted mistakes are magnified when Josh Allen is on the other sideline. On Monday night, Allen made the Jets work for whatever they wanted by playing turnover-free football.

Trailing by three points and no doubt feeling confident after completing a 52-yard Hail Mary to Allen Lazard just before halftime, Aaron Rodgers decided to tempt fate once again. Just before the two-minute warning in regulation, Rodgers fired a deep pass toward Mike Williams, but the receiver made a mistake, allowing cornerback Taron Johnson to park from outside the frame and steal a ball for Buffalo.

In fact, there would be no victory lap for the 40-year-old Rodgers — he instead had to watch left end Josh Allen call his own number to send the “W” Buffalo in his direction. It was a fitting play to clinch the win, with three runs clinching the game – a stark contrast to the fateful decisions made in the final moments against the Houston Texans a week earlier.

Without a doubt, this was an ugly victory for McDermott's group. After a wild first half, both teams were only able to score three points each after the break. The Bills are lucky that they struck last and that Rodgers' best offensive performance and the Jets' offense this season didn't derail their plans to stay in first place.

Even though Rodgers threw for just a few yards under 300, Lazard and Garrett Wilson each received over 100 yards, and Breece Hall had over 100 yards on the ground, the Jets couldn't overcome the turnover battle. Instead of being happy about the win, Rodgers sat on the bench upset and shaking his head.

Luckily, everything worked out for the Bills in the end, otherwise Hail Mary would occupy a much larger place in the mantle of McDermott mistakes. As now, “Eight Seconds” has entered the lexicon of Bill’s Mafia lingo. That may seem unfair for him considering Bobby Babich is the defensive coordinator behind this game, but there is a real history between McDermott and crazy mistakes in the game.

Buffalo's latest Hail Mary gaffe Is inexcusable no matter how anyone tries to paint over it. By giving up that touchdown before halftime, the Bills' chance of a double-dip was eliminated, which is a big reason teams prefer to kick off early in games. To make matters worse in this regard, Buffalo's attempt to open the third quarter came to nothing after (trigger warning) Tyler Bass missed a 47-yard field goal down the right side. From the hopeful double-dip to the 10-point swing in the wrong direction.

And then it came ugly for both teams.

Monday night's game featured many impressive plays, perhaps none more so than Allen's incredible field-destroying 42-yard throw down the sideline to a leaping Ray Davis. But there was also too much unnecessary drama, fueled by too many penalties. In total, there were 22 accepted penalties for 204 yards – 11 for 94 yards for the Bills, 11 for 110 yards for the Jets. Don't ask about the rejected ones.

Even Rodgers addressed some of these calls during his postgame press conference, stating that anything more than a rough beating was not a fair punishment for either side. However, there were plenty of self-inflicted mistakes that simply have no place on a team that wants to compete well into January. Head coach Sean McDermott pointed out after the game that pre-snap penalties were “non-negotiable” and needed to be addressed.

Here too, the biggest takeaway is that after just six weeks, the Bills now have a firm grip on the AFC East at 4-2. No one outside of the team's fan base would have taken that bet in August. The Jets had to lose in the East because the old Rodgers was back in the saddle. And those Miami Dolphins? Oh, they certainly had a few things to say about Buffalo's reign. The Bills were clearly the third-best team in the division after losing players like Stefon Diggs.

Six games into the season, we're starting to learn what teams are really made of. Guess what? Although many players have come and gone, these Buffalo Bills once again march forward with great courage and determination, always up for the challenge of redirecting a lost route. While McDermott can be taken to task for these all-too-common, nerve-wracking mistakes on game day, his teams often perform above their weight class.

Yes, there is still a lot of work to be done on the passing game. While that may sound crazy given Allen's overall start to 2024, it's true. The key, of course, is to focus on the progress that has been made. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady needs to continue to find more options for tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. Kincaid disappeared again for most of the second and third quarters. Knox only had one catch, but what an amazing goal it was to score a 12-yard touchdown grab. When Knox scores at least one touchdown, the Buffalo Bills are 20-1. Give these guys more options, which means finding new ways to protect Kincaid against double coverage.

Luckily, we saw some looks and completions from wide receiver Curtis Samuel further down the field, but Brady should really think about overhauling his offense. There is so much more meat on the bone in his game. As for wide receiver Mack Hollins, much to the chagrin of many, I will continue to campaign for him to find more meaningful looks. It's clear that Josh Allen likes to go the Hollins route in the red zone, and building that chemistry could pay huge dividends late in the season.

He's an easy person to root for, but there's a lot to love about the game of rookie running back Ray Davis. Replacing James Cook, Davis carried the ball 20 times for 94 yards and caught all three of his targets for 55 yards. It's clear the Bills are committed to the ground game, and they've found the right people to integrate seamlessly in any given loss.

Taron Johnson's return was huge and it's worth wondering what the outcome will be without him on the field. The same goes for safety Taylor Rapp, who made many great plays in front of a national audience: none greater than chasing running back Breece Hall to prevent a touchdown and later flying across the end zone opposite Damar Hamlin for a would-be fending off a touchdown pass.

The calls to replace Tyler Bass will continue to grow, but to claim he's been terrible is disingenuous unless you want to consider all factors. A closer look at the position this season will reveal much more than just the kickers who made more than 60 field goals. In the end, Bass' bad night wasn't nearly as bad as Greg Zuerlein's. This is not meant to be an excuse for bass misses or for kickers having a hard time getting where expected.

Bass' missed extra point was ultimately blocked, but one can question whether it was otherwise headed in the right direction. Every 47-yard miss by a Bills kicker hurts differently thanks to Super Bowl XXV, but the weather in the Meadowlands played a real role Monday night. You won't find an argument from me that argues against the idea that a kicker's job is to secure points. For now, I remain willing to think more about what lies behind Bass' failures rather than the idea that he's simply “broken.” Perhaps the better question is should the Bills' priority be finding a kicker who excels in poor conditions?

So yes, this season hasn't been without its challenges for fans and the Bills have only played six games. This means there may be more bumps along the way. Still, there's a lot to like about this year's bills.

It might be time to just accept this year's team for what it is, because it's on the rise. It's true that they chose to work their magic in a way that most fans aren't used to with Josh Allen at the helm, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The challenge now is to ensure the magic formula holds in the playoffs, supported by the mantra of taking it one game at a time.

On deck: a home date with the Tennessee Titans.