EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Josh Allen's nose might have taken the biggest hit by the Buffalo Bills against the New York Jets.
The defending NFL MVP shook off a bloody nose that sidelined him for two plays, James Cook ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns and the Bills cruised to a 30-10 victory on Sunday.
“We can breathe, so it's good,” Allen said with a grin, his nose swollen and sporting a black and blue mark.
Buffalo, coming off a 41-40 comeback win over Baltimore, needed no late rally in this one as the Bills (2-0) shut down Justin Fields and the Jets' offense from the start.
With the Bills leading 10-0, Allen left late in the first quarter after he scrambled and was stopped for no gain. Micheal Clemons appeared to get a hand under the quarterback’s facemask.
“I pulled (the football) when I probably should've handed it off,” Allen said. “I tried to throw it and I saw them push, so I decided to tuck it. I don't know what hit me — it was a knee, it was a hand, it was somebody — and the helmet just kind of came down on the bridge of my nose and just started leaking.”
Allen, with blood flowing from his nose, ran to the sideline and was examined by trainers. Mitchell Trubisky came in and immediately completed a 32-yard pass to Joshua Palmer for a first down. Trubisky then handed off to Ty Johnson as Allen continued to be looked at.
Allen, with his left nostril packed with gauze, then jogged back onto the field on the next play to start the second quarter. The drive ended with a 52-yard field goal by Matt Prater that gave the Bills a 13-0 lead.
With the game well in hand and the Bills leading 30-3 with 8:23 left, Allen came out and Trubisky finished. Allen was 14 of 25 for 148 yards and ran for 59 yards on six carries.
Fields, coming off a promising Jets debut in the opener, struggled to move the ball before leaving in the fourth quarter with a concussion.
After being sacked by Joey Bosa, Fields was checked in the injury tent and then walked to the locker room. Tyrod Taylor replaced Fields with 12:03 remaining. Fields was only 3 of 11 passing for 27 yards and had 49 yards rushing on five carries.
Taylor got the Jets, who fell to 0-2 under new coach Aaron Glenn, into the end zone for the only time when he tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Ruckert with 3:28 left.
“When it comes to this game, very disappointed," Glenn said. "Like, very disappointed. All three phases, to be honest with you.”
After allowing 238 yards rushing in the win over Baltimore, Buffalo gave up just 100 to New York even with defensive tackle Ed Oliver out. The Jets finished with 154 total yards, the fewest allowed by the Bills in a road game since giving up 127 at Indianapolis in 1990.
“It was important for us to get off to a good start,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “And I thought we did that in a complementary way.”
Cook ran it in from 1 yard to put Buffalo up 7-0 on its opening possession. The 12-play drive was prolonged by a roughing the passer penalty on Clemons, who slammed into Allen on third-and-19. Allen's pass fell incomplete, but the penalty kept things going for the Bills.
Allen also had a 40-yard run earlier on the drive — a play on which Michael Carter II was also called for defensive holding — on third-and-8 from the Bills 21.
The Jets gave the Bills the ball right back on their next play from scrimmage when Fields was hit from behind by Bosa and fumbled, and A.J. Epenesa recovered at the 24. New York's defense stiffened against Allen and Buffalo settled for a 28-yarder by Prater to take a 10-0 lead.
“With Josh Allen, all you have to do is make a few stops and get the ball in his hand,” Bosa said, “and more than likely you’re going to end up winning games.”
Cook's second TD run made it 20-0 when he bounced over and around a few tackle attempts and zipped into the end zone for a 44-yard touchdown with 8:50 left in the opening half.
Nick Folk's 51-yarder with 4:21 remaining in the second quarter put the Jets on the scoreboard.
Allen and the Bills outgained the Jets 247 yards to 78 in the first half and limited Fields to 2 of 8 passing for 25 yards — the first time they limited an opponent to two completions in the opening two quarters since doing so against New England in 2021.
Prater added a 33-yarder on Buffalo's first possession of the second half to make it 23-3.
Former Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore scored on a 4-yard end-around run on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
Bills: McDermott said LB Matt Milano, who didn't play in the second half, was “dinged up a little bit here” but didn't say what the injury was.
Jets: Edge rusher Jermaine Johnson left in the second quarter with an ankle injury. ... S Tony Adams injured his groin in the first half. ... Carter hurt a shoulder in the third quarter.
Bills: Host the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.
Jets: Travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers next Sunday.
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