EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Jets have a new head coach. They also still have many of the same issues that got the previous one fired.

Despite the Jets putting together one of their best offensive games of the season, unfocused and undisciplined play — evident in nearly a dozen penalties enforced — and a pair of doinked field goals prevented New York from edging past the Buffalo Bills on Monday night in the coaching debut of Jeff Ulbrich.

The Jets got the ball with 3:43 left to play in the game, with the chance to lead a potential game-winning drive. Instead, a drive marred by penalties and an eventual Aaron Rodgers interception helped seal Buffalo’s 23-20 victory.

Ulbrich replaced Robert Saleh, who was fired Tuesday, and was looking to push the Jets (2-4) to the front of the AFC East race.

The offense under new play caller Todd Downing did indeed show improvement; the Jets posted 124 yards of total offense in the first quarter, the most they had generated in any game since 2022. They finished the game with 393, 7 yards shy of their highest total of the season. Their first touchdown of the game, a 5-yard pass in the first quarter to receiver Garrett Wilson, snapped a streak of 25 drives that had started in their own territory to end without a touchdown. By the middle of the third quarter, the Jets had posted six plays of 20 or more yards. By the end of the game, that number was up to eight.

Perhaps most importantly, it appeared that Downing’s game plan made a concerted effort to activate Wilson and running back Breece Hall, both of whom had been having slow starts to the season.

With Hall, Downing looked to get him to build up speed behind the line of scrimmage on lateral stretch plays and tosses, which allowed Hall to gash the Buffalo defense for big gains once the blocks at the edge sealed open rushing lanes.

Hall finished with 169 total yards on 23 touches, easily surpassing his season highs.

In the passing game, Downing called plays with rapidly developing outlets, allowing Rodgers to lean on his quick release and getting the ball into the hands of New York’s playmakers — like Wilson — in open space.

Wilson posted his best game of the season, catching eight passes on 10 targets for 107 yards and a touchdown.

Still, some of New York’s issues under Saleh remained. Penalties, many ill-timed, and lack of focus often derailed drives and — in one pivotal case — took a touchdown off the board.

Late in the third quarter, on New York’s seventh offensive possession, Rodgers found Wilson for a pair of nice gains, including a 23-yard scamper on a crossing route. The Jets then marched inside the 5-yard line, when running back Braelon Allen pushed through the Bills defense for what would’ve been a 4-yard touchdown rush; a holding penalty nullified the score. On the following play, Wilson had a would-be touchdown knocked out of his hands with a big hit. On the play following that one, kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 32-yard field goal.

Later in the game, after Zuerlein doinked a second field goal in a row, a needless roughing-the-passer personal foul gave Buffalo new life, leading to the go-ahead field goal.

The Jets had 11 penalties enforced for a total of 110 penalty yards.

The Bills (4-2), who also had 11 penalties enforced, snapped a two-game losing streak.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Rodgers, Jets fall short vs. Bills after Robert Saleh firing