You could tell all week that there was a different vibe emanating from One Bills Drive as the Buffalo Bills prepared to meet the New York Jets.

Coming off their inexplicable loss in Jacksonville which suddenly cast some doubt about who Sean McDermott’s team really was, there were fewer smiles, a little less post-practice goofing around, and a bit more seriousness when the cameras and recording apps were rolling.

The Bills knew they could not alter what was already done, an egregious performance that down the road could prove potentially damaging in the race for playoff seeding as well as the AFC East division title.

But the messaging was simple: What’s done is done, and the veteran leaders, of which there are several, laid down the law and let it be known that what happened in Jacksonville was not going to be the defining moment of the Bills season.

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“We needed a win,” said safety Micah Hyde. “It doesn't matter how we get it. We want to win, and our backs were against the wall, I guess, after last week. It was a tough loss, and we wanted to go out there and get a win today. Whether it was a 9-6 game, us winning, or the final outcome of today. We wanted to get a win and help get the ball rolling.”

Oh, they got a win, and it sure wasn’t 9-6. How about 45-17 over the hapless Jets at MetLife Stadium, the latest in a string of lopsided victories the Bills have collected this year.

This one was different from the others, though. When the Bills lost to the Steelers, no big deal. It was Week 1, weird things happen, and they promptly reeled off four straight victories.

The loss to the Titans? Hey, that’s a good team, the No. 1 team right now in the AFC, it was at their place in prime time, and even still, the Bills were a couple yards and one Josh Allen slip away from winning that one. They rebounded after the bye to beat Miami.

But that loss to the lowly Jaguars? Yeah, that one was jarring and it created a mini wave of panic throughout Bills Nation. That’s why this victory over the Jets – while certainly not a monumental achievement given their roster – was so important, and it was made even better because it was such a dominating performance.

The world seems to be back on its axis, and perhaps this will springboard the Bills back into the conversation as a legit Super Bowl contender.

“Tough week, and like I had talked about last week, kind of pointing inwards,” said center Mitch Morse. “Guys did that from top to bottom, players and staff. I think the big thing – a pivotal moment that was as a team, you run into adversity every year and believe me, we’re gonna run into more. It was a great way to grow. Obviously we didn’t want to lose that game, but we came in with a great mindset in the work week and the coaches put us in a great position.”

The Bills opened the game by scoring on their first two possessions, an Allen to Matt Breida touchdown pass and a Tyler Bass field goal. Meanwhile, the defense continued its stellar season-long play by handcuffing the Jets and their underdog quarterback, Mike White.

Things bogged down a bit in the second quarter and when the Jets cut their deficit to 10-3, you started to wonder where this thing was going. Was it possible the Bills could play down to their competition again? Was it possible they could lose to yet another team in contention for the first overall pick in the 2022 draft?

Of course not. Allen threw a 57-yard pass to Stefon Diggs two plays after the kickoff, and then threw two TD passes to Diggs – one that didn’t count, reversed properly by replay, one that did count, no replay necessary.

That made it 17-3 at the half, and when the Bills exploded out of the locker room to score three touchdowns in the first nine minutes of the third quarter, the game was over, the crisis in confidence was averted, and their slim lead in the AFC East was protected.

“We’ve got some true veteran guys, true professionals that care about each other, care about their craft,” said Allen, who threw for a season-high 366 yards and re-established his connection with Diggs to the tune of eight completions for 162 yards.

The Bills were able to shred New York’s secondary as Allen averaged a remarkable 13.1 yards per attempt, and they managed to get their stagnant running game going as they totaled 139 yards and 5.8 yards per attempt, though the numbers were aided by three reverses from Emmanuel Sanders and Isaiah McKenzie that totaled 41 yards and a touchdown.

“I thought Brian Daboll called a great game,” said coach Sean McDermott. “I really did. Changed the look enough and changed the profile of the offense and I thought that was well executed and good to get stuff going there.”

As impressive as the 489-yard offensive performance was, the defense was even better. Playing without injured Tremaine Edmunds, and then losing Star Lotulelei to the COVID list, Leslie Frazier’s group came up with five takeaways – one for each member of the five-man starting secondary – and had White shaking his head in disbelief and looking like he was seeing ghosts.

There were interceptions by Taron Johnson, Tre’Davious White, Levi Wallace and Jordan Poyer, and Micah Hyde forced and recovered a fumble that prevented the Jets from attempting a field goal and stealing some points at the end of the half.

“I don't know how many teams have done that, to be honest,” said Wallace of the secondary’s larceny which raised the Bills takeaway total to 24, far and away the best in the league. “It’s so crazy.”

It was the ultimate get right game for the Bills, one to boost their morale if it was sagging after Jacksonville.

There was a purpose in how they prepared, and it manifested itself in a rollicking beat down of a division rival, Buffalo’s ninth straight against AFC East teams since the start of 2020.

“I just felt that really they did it,” McDermott said. “It wasn't anything I did, they did it. And it was led by the leaders. Every ship needs a rudder, in terms of steering it where it needs to go and those guys do a phenomenal job. I really appreciate the leadership of our football team. I thought they did a great job this week, leading at that level.

“We need that every week moving forward. You try and define the reality of our situation and where we were and how we got there and where we need to go and what the vision is going forward and some of those are encouraging conversations, some are matter of fact and truthful conversations, and so I think that's the right balance.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Maiorana: Buffalo Bills' leaders help team refocus to decimate NY Jets