A 16-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Santonio Holmes with just 1:01 to go in regulation Sunday helped the New York Jets escape with a 28-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills in an AFC East showdown at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The Jets improve to 6-5 overall and are now right back into the thick of the AFC playoff race, while the Bills' postseason dreams are all but over.
Holmes' fifth touchdown catch of the season capped a 12-play, 82-yard drive, which featured two third-down situations that were converted. The most important coming on a 3-and-11 from the Bills' 36-yard line when Sanchez floated a pass to wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who used all of his 6-foot-5 frame to snag the ball out of the air for a 18-yard gain. Two plays later, Holmes was wide open in the corner of the end zone.
On its final possession of the game, Buffalo (5-6) marched inside the Jets' 30-yard line, but its final attempts to win the game failed. Buffalo took a 24-21 lead after field goal kicker Dave Rayner nailed a 53-yard field goal with 9:46 to play.
Sanchez, who completed just 17-0f-35 passes for just 180 yards, didn't put together his best performance of the season, but he did finish the game with four touchdown passes. Tight end Dustin Keller caught four passes, two of them for touchdowns, for team-best 64 yards. Starting running back Shonn Greene ran for a game-best 78 yards on 13 carries.