EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Who needs Tuna Helper? Not Al Groh and the New York Jets, not so far.
The rookie coach pulled more magic out of his bag of tricks as the New York Jets improved to 3-0 for only the second time in franchise history with a 27-14 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
When he was named to succeed Bill Parcells, Groh admitted he would be working in the shawdow of Parcells, now the Jets' director of football operations. But Groh has shown he is not afraid to mix things up.
Vinny Testaverde stunned the Bills by tossing a 45-yard touchdown pass to cornerback Marcus Coleman on the final play of the first half, giving the Jets a 21-14 halftime lead and all the momentum they needed to remain unbeaten.
"It was a good win for our team and a tough, very physical football game," Groh said. "I thought all phases of our team played well and did what they had to do. It was an excellent, excellent team effort."
The Jets made all the big plays, getting a 97-yard kickoff return from Kevin Williams in the first quarter and another touchdown on a fourth-down run by Curtis Martin in the second period.
"They always say winning at home is a big thing," Williams said. "We're glad to be 3-0. We don't feel like we're the favorite. We're going out there to be the best team that we can be."
New York moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC East. New York's only other 3-0 start was in 1966, three years before the Jets' victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
The 6-2 Coleman was a track star at Texas Tech and showed his athletic ability when he stole the ball away from three Buffalo defenders in the back of the end zone for his first career receiving touchdown.
"We practice it every week," Groh said. "At the end of practice, we prepare last plays and that's one that we use. It was a better seven-point lead. The math reads the same, but it was better for our heart."
Coleman recorded his first touchdown catch since his days at Lake Highland High School in Dallas.
"I was surprised there was nobody in front of me," he said. "I think it hurt them pretty bad. I can jump the highest and I'm pretty tall. It feels good they want to use me in certain situations."
Ironically, Coleman was burned on the previous possession as Rob Johnson tossed a 74-yard TD pass to Jeremy McDaniel with 1:07 left in the half. Johnson completed 21-of-36 passes for 291 yards.
With the Jets holding a 14-7 lead, Coleman snuck up from the secondary and made a bid for an interception. That left McDaniel all alone for an easy touchdown down the left sideline. But Coleman quickly made up for his defense mistake.
"He'd make a great receiver if coach would let him play both ways," Testaverde said. "Back in training camp, we actually practiced that play. We were throwing to Wayne (Chrebet) and everybody was outjumping them. So I asked coach if we could use Marcus. I have worked with him since."
The Bills sputtered in the second half and were denied their first 3-0 start since 1992, when Buffalo made the third of its four straight Super Bowl appearances.
Testaverde's "Hail Mary" pass to Coleman deflated the Bills, who were held scoreless in the second half. John Hall booted field goals of 51 and 27 yards for the Jets, who extended the NFL's longest current winning streak to seven games.
"Obviously, it was a disastrous game for us," Buffalo coach Wade Phillips said. "It seemed like Murphy's Law in a lot of cases. I mean, everytime something went good for us, everything went bad. So it was our fault. I don't think I've been at a game where we've made quite that many mistakes at key times."
Testaverde improved to 16-2 as a starter for New York, completing 16-of-32 for 188 yards. He moved into 16th on the NFL's all-time yardage list with 33,305. Martin led the Jets on the ground with 84 yards on 29 carries.
The Bills drove into New York territory on its first possession of the second half, but Steve Christie's 43-yard field goal was blocked. The Jets took advantage to go up, 24-14, on Hall's 51-yard boot with 7:15 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bills had a chance to get back in the game early in the fourth quarter as Johnson hit Peerless Price for a 20-yard gain down to the New York 14. But Price caughed up the ball at the end of the run and Victor Green recovered for the Jets with 14:15 to play.
"I don't know whether (whether I was down)," Price said. "I fumbled, that is what the ref called and I have to live with it. We made a lot of mistakes today and beat ourselves."
After forcing the Jets to punt, the Bills continued to self destruct as Bernie Parmlee recovered Chris Hayes' fumble at the 28. That led to Hall's 27-yard field goal with 1:56 to play.
Buffalo drove 80 yards in 12 plays on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead on Johnson's three-yard TD toss to Eric Moulds. But lost tight end Jay Remersma, who suffered a knee injury and did not return. He had three catches during the opening drive.
"Jay was having a fantastic game, obviously," Phillips said. "It started off great for us and he got banged up right on the goal line. We'll have to wait and see on him. He jammed his knee."
The Jets quickly answered on Williams' kickoff return and went up, 14-7, on Baxter's five-yard TD run on 4th-and-1 with 7:41 remaining in the first half.
Shawn Bryson paced the Bills on the ground with just 40 yards on 12 attempts. Moulds had eight receptions for 78 yards.
