BUFFALO, N.Y. — This is how the season came crashing down in a heap for the Jets.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, with momentum well in hand and any memories of a dreadful first half put to rest, Ryan Fitzpatrick was humming on a seemingly fateful drive against the Bills that would clinch a wild-card berth and serve as a shove-it win over former coach Rex Ryan.
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Then it happened.
Fitzpatrick, facing a second-and-10 from the Bills 14-yard line, lobbed an errant pass to Eric Decker that seemed to hang in the air, only to be snatched away in the clutches of Leodis McKelvin.
The objective was simple: A win punches what would be considered a very promising playoff ticket. Instead, a 22-17 loss to the Bills coupled with the Steelers' 28-12 victory over the Browns means the Jets will miss the postseason for a fifth consecutive season.
It was an uninspired performance altogether for a team that last week knocked off the first-place Patriots and controlled their own destiny in Week 17. The Bills, playing with a slew of injuries, were down starting running back LeSean McCoy and top cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
The Jets played little like a team with everything on the line in the first half, totaling 144 yards of total offense mostly salvaged by a 48-yard Chris Ivory run in the second quarter. Fitzpatrick's performance was reminiscent of his final season in Buffalo, completing two of seven passes for 5 yards.
Fitzpatrick, playing inside Ralph Wilson Stadium for the first time since his 2012 departure, has never been to the playoffs in 11 seasons. Onlookers in Buffalo knew all too fell about his shortcomings, and waited with bated breath for the inevitable turnover that would derail the Jets' chances in the same way it so often did over his four seasons here.
Fitzpatrick finished the game 16 of 37 for 181 and a pair of touchdown passes. But it was his three fourth-quarter interceptions — the one to McKelvin, another to Manny Lawson just after the 2-minute warning and the final dagger to A.J. Tarpley in the final seconds — that sealed the Jets fate.
It was a disappointing end to what was before Sunday's game a magical season for Fitzpatrick and the Jets offense. He broke the single-season franchise passing touchdown record (31) held by Vinny Testaverde. Alongside Decker, Ivory and Brandon Marshall, Fitzpatrick and the Jets broke another franchise record for total yards.
All told, the Jets fell flat and allowed Ryan and the Bills to spoil a promising playoff run for a team that, just a week ago, nobody wanted to play in the postseason. Now they'll sit and watch as the Steelers take their place.
