Jets Down Bills in Thursday Night Football

By ESPN

Matt Forte scored three touchdown runs and Ryan Fitzpatrick finally solved Rex Ryan's defense, leading the New York Jets to a 37-31 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.

Forte's 3-yard run put New York ahead 27-24 with 2:12 left in the third quarter. He sealed the win by patiently waiting for a seam to open before scampering into the end zone from 12 yards to put New York up 37-24 with 4:02 left in the fourth quarter.

Forte finished with 100 yards rushing, and the offseason free-agent addition became the 13th New York player to score three rushing touchdowns in a game.

The Jets (1-1) bounced back from a season-opening loss to Cincinnati and snapped a five-game skid against their AFC East rivals.

Fitzpatrick finished 24 of 34 for 374 yards and a 5-yard touchdown pass to Eric Decker.

In beating one of his former teams, Fitzpatrick also overcame the stinging memories of last year's season finale, a 22-17 loss at Buffalo that eliminated the Jets from playoff contention. Fitzpatrick closed the loss by throwing interceptions on each of the Jets final three possessions.

"I think it means a little bit more than a regular game because this was my life for four years being here," Fitzpatrick said about spending 2009-12 with the Bills. "But I'm more excited about our team and the way we responded in the second half."

The Bills (0-2) are suddenly reeling in Ryan's second season as coach , and two years after he has fired by the Jets.

Thursday, September 15 Scoreboard

New York Jets 37, Buffalo 31    

Sunday, September 18 Schedule (All Times Central)

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, noon

Tennessee at Detroit, noon

Baltimore at Cleveland, noon

Dallas at Washington, noon

New Orleans at New York Giants, noon

San Francisco at Carolina, noon

Miami at New England, noon

Kansas City at Houston, noon

Seattle at Los Angeles, 3:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Arizona, 3;05 p.m.

Jacksonville at San Diego, 3:25 p.m.

Atlanta at Oakland, 3:25 p.m.

Indianapolis at Denver, 3:25 p.m.

Green Bay at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.    

Monday, September 19 Schedule (Time Central)

Philadelphia at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.