Jets Are Mat as Buffalo Enters the Playoff Door : Bills: They win AFC East again, beating the same team as last season to clinch the title.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —  It didn’t happen as early as it did last season, but the Buffalo Bills are AFC East champions.

The clincher came in Week 12 last season, and this year it was on the Saturday of the last weekend. Both clinchers, however, were at the expense of the New York Jets.

Jim Kelly’s two touchdowns led the Bills to a 37-0 victory, as one-sided as last year’s divisional race.

“Last year it was early, this year it was struggle, struggle, but we’re there again,” Buffalo nose tackle Fred Smerlas said.

There was no struggle for the Jets Saturday, except for the few fans who ventured to Giants Stadium.

The game started with the temperature at 16 degrees and a wind-chill factor of minus-11. There were 21,148 in attendance, but there were 55,743 no-shows, believed to be an NFL record.

The crowd was the smallest at a non-strike Jet game since 5,826 attended a game against Buffalo at the Polo Grounds on Dec. 14, 1963.

“It wasn’t a real stinging wind,” Buffalo Coach Marv Levy said. “It was one of the nicer days we’ve seen in a long time.”

The weather and the loss weren’t all that made it a bleak day for Jet Coach Joe Walton. It has been widely speculated this was his last game as Jet coach after taking over for the 1983 season.

“If you stay in this business long enough, there are going to be bad times,” said Walton, who said he wants to return next season. “I’ll meet with the team tomorrow, thank them and wish them a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”

The Bills (9-7), who had lost five of seven, ended a three-game losing streak. “Is it a relief to win it?” Levy asked, repeating a question. “There’s always that pressure, but it is sweet. We’ve struggled hard to get here. We have been in first place for 32 straight weeks. It’s hard to please people.”

The division title was the sixth for the Bills, who lost to Cincinnati in the AFC championship game last season.

“This team deserves a lot of credit,” Levy said. “They hung in there and won the division by earning it.”

The Jets, who lost to Buffalo, 34-3, earlier in the season, finished 4-12, their worst record since going 4-12 in 1980. Instead of playoffs, what’s next for the franchise is a much-awaited meeting Tuesday between Walton and Dick Steinberg, the team’s new general manager.

Kelly finished 13 for 21 for 208 yards with Andre Reed catching six passes for 80 yards. “We were the Bills of the first five games today,” Reed said. “Our offense was clicking and our defense was clicking.”

The Bills opened the scoring with a 26-yard field goal by Scott Norwood with 4:26 to play in the first quarter.

The Jets, who were shut out by Pittsburgh two weeks ago, had one scoring chance but it ended when Pat Leahy’s 30-yard field goal attempt was blocked with 8:14 left in the quarter.

It was all Buffalo from there.

Larry Kinnebrew ran in from one yard 1:07 before halftime for a 10-0 lead. The Bills stretched it out in the third with Kelly connecting with James Lofton on a 25-yard pass play with 10:49 left in the quarter. It was the same distance on the next scoring play, this time a pass to Ronnie Harmon in the left corner of the end zone, and the Bills led, 23-0, with 4:39 left in the third.

“That touchdown before the half was big, but the game still wasn’t over then,” Levy said. “Jim played very well. He was a big contributor. Our team has to continue to play well, not just Kelly.”

The Bills made the score 30-0 on a three-yard run by Thurman Thomas shortly before the third quarter ended.

Kenneth Davis ended the scoring with a 17-yard run with 2:44 to play.

Kinnebrew had 91 yards in 17 carries, while Thomas had 73 in 17 carries.