Rex Ryan gets payback on Jets in Bills' win

The lead-up, the game, answering questions about his emotions – all of it was now in the past. This was a man who was leaving this building, like the countless times he had before, and was headed home.

But unlike the previous six years before when he was the head coach of the New York Jets, that would now require a flight to Buffalo.

Ryan walked through the visitor’s locker room, his roll-away suitcase dragging behind him.

“Yeah, Rex,” a Bills player shouted. “Yeah, f------ Rex.”

Ryan kept looking forward. He kept walking.

“That man right there,” Bills linebacker Nigel Bradham told USA TODAY Sports as he pointed one finger in Ryan’s direction, “he’s the reason why we did this.

“I can’t tell you anything that will make you understand how important this was to him. He didn’t say a word all week about it, but it was just a feeling we had. We knew that a loss would have been devastating. We knew we couldn’t let that happen.”

To help explain, Bradham illustrated the scene in this very room just 20 minutes earlier. The doors were closed. Ryan, now the coach of the Buffalo Bills, had just completed a hard-fought 22-17 victory at MetLife Stadium over the team he formerly called his own. He called his players to gather.

Ryan normally gives game balls after victories to players who have ties to that day’s opponent. Bills center Eric Wood, however, was too quick. He handed Ryan the game ball before he could say a word.

Ryan fought back tears.

“Everybody went crazy,” Bradham said. “It was live in here, man. He was ecstatic. All his emotions were coming out and everything. We knew all week how important this was to him. So that’s why we had to get the job done for him. We just had to.”

What happened next is a little more of a mystery. After Bills victories, players and coaches break it down. One person gets in front of the group and says a few rallying words before they all huddle up.

“I don’t think I can tell you what he said,” Bradham revealed, “but he had a special one for the Jets, I can tell you that much.”

The buildup to this game started minutes after Buffalo’s last one. All week long, Ryan faced questions about how much this game would mean to him.

Then there was the bizarre pregame scene, when Ryan did not show up to the field at all for warmups or jog-throughs, which is very rare for an NFL head coach. Photographers lined up outside of the tunnel waiting. Reporters started to speculate the reason why he was absent.

“I actually asked myself: Did I miss Rex?” Bills running back LeSean McCoy said.

Ryan stayed in the locker room on purpose.

“This game, you guys made it all about me, so I that’s why I stayed in,” he said. “It had jack s--- to do about me.”

That’s the paradox that sometimes comes with Ryan. He stresses he doesn’t seek attention. When he does, those around him say it’s only to alleviate pressure off his players. But Ryan’s press conferences are unique. He cracks jokes. He makes predictions. He’s fiery.

Ryan is one of the most polarizing coaches in the NFL, partly, because of the kind of statements he made after the win.

“It’s pretty satisfying,” Ryan said of Thursday night’s victory. “Without question. And, you know what? Now I can talk the truth and say the truth. I look at it this way: It’s kind of like being dumped by some girl that you had the hots for and all that stuff. Every guy in this room has been dumped by some girl before. That’s really what it feels like. Hey, you move on and every now and then, they call you back.

“But they can’t get you back.”

That’s fine for now. But Buffalo’s biggest test lies ahead. This win propelled Buffalo (5-4) into a three-way tie with the Jets (5-4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4) in the hunt for an AFC wild-card berth.

The Bills now travel to New England to face the Patriots in the second game of a three consecutive on the road.. While Thursday night’s victory against Ryan's former team was huge, a win against a team like New England is one that would elevate Buffalo’s profile in the NFL.

“As good as the Jets are, the best team is still the New England Patriots,” Ryan said. “And so that’s the one I’ll always chase.”

It was an apt way to end an emotional night: a burn that Jets fans know all too well, but this time, have to receive it.