ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- What was Todd Bowles thinking?

The New York Jets had the ball at their 44-yard line, down by two scores in the fourth quarter on Sunday. They had four minutes to get it done, a rather small window for a team with such a dreadful offense.

Possession was important, very important, but the Jets' coach punted it back to the Buffalo Bills. It wasn't the reason they lost the game, 21-12, but it certainly gave life to an issue that surfaced last season -- Bowles' game-management skills.

"We thought we could get field position and we had three timeouts," Bowles said. "We thought we could stop them and get the ball back."

The Jets got the ball back, but it was too late -- 1:44 remaining and they had burned through their timeouts. The defense, probably gassed, failed to get a stop. Game over.

Bowles shouldn't have punted. Granted, it was fourth-and-8 -- a low-percentage situation -- but the situation required unconventional strategy. The Jets don't have enough talent to beat teams, toe to toe, so they'll have to lean on outside-the-box thinking.

There was a similar situation last season in Pittsburgh, except it was fourth-and-2 near midfield with seven minutes to play. Bowles punted then, too, a decision that caused some players to grumble and fans to scream.

This time, there was no second-guessing, publicly.

"That's just the coach's decision," quarterback Josh McCown said. "Anytime, as a player, you're on the field and they say, 'Go for it,' you go. The coach understands how to manage a game, and you trust that you'll get the chance to pin them back and maybe back them up, and stuff like that. It makes sense to always in those situations to defer to coaching."

Up until that point, the Jets were 0-for-3 in situations in which it was between third-and-8 and third-and-10. So, yes, it was a long shot, but it was a gamble worth taking because, let's face it, the defense hadn't had much success against LeSean McCoy.

"We thought we could get a stop and get the ball back," Bowles said, explaining the punt. "It's as simple as that."