NFL: Forte, Fitzpatrick lead Jets to win

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — 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, two years after he was fired by the Jets.

“Obviously, we never expected this,” Ryan said. “The Jets were a much better team than we were today, especially their offense against our defense looked like a mismatch today. You look for a difference in the game and that was the difference in the game.”

Former Hawaii wide receiver Greg Salas provided one of the best offensive highlights of the night for the Bills. The five-year pro brought in a career-long 71-yard bomb early in the third quarter. Salas brought in four of five targets for 89 yards.