Bills vs. Jets 2017 live updates: Scores and highlights from ‘Thursday Night Football’

The New York Jets rushed for 194 yards and took advantage of three turnovers to beat the Buffalo Bills, improving to 4-5 on the year, one shy of their win total for the entire 2016 season.

Buffalo cashed in that onside kick with another touchdown, a run by Tyrrod Taylor, not that Jets fans stuck around to watch a game they thought was already over (hint: it was!):

The Jets’ run of 27 consecutive points ended with a Bills touchdown. Tyrrod Taylor completed eight of nine passes on this drive, culminating in a 26-yard touchdown to Deonte Thompson.

Buffalo then recovered this nifty onside kick thanks to a nice bounce:

The Jets tacked on a field goal, but the key play was a 15-yard run by Elijah McGuire, on a “booty” call, no less.

New York has 168 yards on 30 carries, the latest a 5-yard touchdown by Matt Forte, his second score of the night. The Jets have scored 24 unanswered points in this game.

Buffalo was driving into Jets territory, and Nick O’Leary hauled in a 20-yard catch for Tyrrod Taylor’s longest pass of the night. But then O’Leary fumbled and thinking the play was over, New York was able to easily recover. Always play to the whistle, folks.

New York is really pouring it on now. Two plays is all they needed on this drive to pull ahead by three scores. Matt Forte ran it in from 10 yards out for the touchdown, but the big play was this 51-yard scamper by Bilal Powell:

Josh McCown is having himself a night. Check out this beautiful pass to Robby Anderson for a 25-yard touchdown to start the third quarter.

New York drove 74 yards on just seven plays in its first drive of the second half.

Buffalo was trying to get some points at the end of the half, but Jordan Matthews killed its drive with a bad fumble.

Bad news for the Bills late in the quarter when Zay Jones suffered a non-contact knee injury. His leg buckled while running a route and he had to be helped off the field. It looked bad, but he returned in the second half.

Jets 10, Bills 7 The Jets nearly had a second touchdown when Austin Seferian-Jenkins got an impressive catch in the end zone, but it got called off by offensive pass interference. New York settled for a 45-yard field goal instead.

Jets 7, Bills 7 Shortly after the second quarter started, Tyrod Taylor hit Zay Jones in the end zone for the rookie wideout’s first NFL touchdown.

The Star Wars celebration was even better.

The Bills got into enemy territory after a couple of Jets penalties kept the drive alive. The quarter ended before they had a chance to score, making it nine straight games without the Bills scoring a first-quarter touchdown.

Jets 7, Bills 0 The Jets were the first team to get inside the red zone, thanks to impressive runs by Matt Forte and Bilal Powell. Josh McCown finished off the drive himself with a 10-yard touchdown scramble.

As expected, the game started off as a defensive slugfest, with both teams trading punts on their opening drives.

The Bills and the Jets were both supposed to be tanking their 2017 seasons in hopes of a high draft pick next spring. Instead, each team is surprisingly in the hunt for a playoff spot halfway through the season. One of these teams will take another step toward the postseason in Week 9 when the two meet on Thursday Night Football. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:25 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NFL Network and CBS (live stream).

A punishing defense and an efficient, if limited, performance from quarterback Tyrod Taylor has Buffalo in position to tie New England atop the AFC East standings Thursday night. New York, behind a suddenly rejuvenated Josh McCown, needs another big performance from the veteran to stem a three-game losing streak. His limited cast of playmakers could make that a problem, even in the friendly confines of MetLife Stadium.

The salary cap is rising faster than franchises are spending, and that means more room than ever for moves. Fifteen teams currently have at least $10 million in space and only two have less than $1 million.

According to The Ringer, just 13 teams had at least $5 million in space during the 2014 season.

There’s much more room to work with now and a handful of teams with gobs of money to throw at players like Dareus and Garoppolo.

McCown has been consistent early in games, but seems to wear down as games go on. The Jets had the chance to beat the Patriots in Week 6, but couldn’t pull off the last-minute comeback. McCown threw a game-sealing interception to end the Week 7 loss to the Dolphins. This week, the Jets were trailing by five points and McCown had just over a minute to try to get into the end zone against the Falcons. He didn’t.

Buffalo (4-0), the Philadelphia Eagles (4-0), and the Seattle Seahawks (3-0) are the only teams with undefeated records at home, but the Bills have something else to be proud of when it comes to playing before the rowdy and raucous fans of Western New York: the Bills have the longest active streak of games scoring 20-plus points at home, having surpassed 20 points in their last 13 games in Orchard Park.

According to multiple reports Jets wide receiver Jeremy Kerley is expected to be suspended by the NFL for violating league policy. The exact nature of the violations and the length and start date of the expected suspension are unknown at this time.

Josh McCown’s revival has been the early highlight of the Jets’ season, even with a lineup littered with other team’s castoffs at the skill positions. Jermaine Kearse remains his top option, and while the platoon of Bilal Powell and Matt Forte has been effective, the two veterans are hardly going to strike fear into the hearts of opponents.

Especially not Buffalo, whose surge has relied on a defense that’s allowed just 16.4 points per game this fall. No team in the league is better at forcing turnovers than the Bills — and that could be enough to send New York back into rebuild mode.