Rex Ryan’s return is full of emotion, and a 22-17 win for Bills

Old habits are hard to break.

First, Rex Ryan read the stat sheet wrong. He was mistakenly studying the numbers of his old team, the New York Jets, and not those of his Buffalo Bills.

“Then, I’m looking out there, and I spent six years coaching the green and white,” he said. “And hell, I look out there and my team’s in red. I’m like, ‘Who are these…? Oh, shoot, that’s us!’”

It’s easy to understand why Ryan was in an upbeat mood Thursday night. After all, he could breathe again. Despite nearly frittering away a 19-point lead, Ryan’s Bills held off a late flurry to beat the Jets, 22-17, in a pivotal AFC East matchup.

There was a huge buildup to this game because it marked the first homecoming of Ryan, who coached the Jets from 2009-14 and defined them with his bombastic swagger.

Although catching 8-0 New England is a tall order, the Bills pulled even with the Jets at 5-4 and both teams are in the thick of the early wild-card hunt.

For Ryan, it was an emotional return. He didn’t take the field with his team for pregame warmups, instead quietly walking out of the visitors’ tunnel with a group of Buffalo coaches about eight minutes before kickoff. Afterward, he insisted the game wasn’t about him.

“This game, you guys made it all about me, and that’s why I stayed in” the locker room, he said to New York reporters. “This had jack … to do about me.”

Later, he needled those same reporters, trading inside jokes with them.

“I miss you that much, guys,” he said, holding his fingers as if pinching an invisible pebble.

A reporter drew a laugh when he playfully shot back: “Just a little bit more than we miss you.”

He defended his decision to make the Bills’ Ikemefuna Enemkpali a game captain. That linebacker played for the Jets until this summer, when he was cut for breaking the jaw of quarterback Geno Smith. Ryan made headlines when he immediately signed Enemkpali.

“I’ve always done that,” said Ryan, who frequently names players captain when they are facing a former team or returning to their hometown. “It would have been a story had I not named him captain. He’s not a bad kid. You think that’s the first fight that’s ever happened in an NFL locker room? Every single team has had fights in their locker room. The young man made a mistake.”

Ryan was revered for his swagger when the Jets hired him as head coach in 2009, and he promptly directed the franchise to consecutive AFC championship games. His bold predictions and unflinching guarantees were part of his charm.

The Jets eventually cooled, though, going 8-8, 6-10, 8-8 and 4-12 in Ryan’s final four seasons. The club switched general managers in 2013, from Mike Tannenbaum to John Idzik, and the ice grew thinner for Ryan.

Figuring the Jets were sure to fire him, Ryan bought a house in Nashville before the 2014 season so he’d have a new place to live. From his perspective, his career was a sad country song at that point — he’d lost cornerback Darrelle Revis to New England, whiffed on signing free-agent receiver DeSean Jackson, couldn’t convince the club to draft Clemson receiver Martavis Bryant. By his appraisal, the Jets didn’t have the receiver or secondary to compete.

And he was right. Ryan, and his incredible shrinking realm of influence, was ultimately shown the door.

Not surprisingly, his Buffalo players love him now.

“We know that Coach Rex has got all of our backs, so we’re just going to go out there and do the same for him,” said Bills safety Baccari Rambo, who forced two fumbles and had the game-clinching interception against the Jets. “It’s a great feeling knowing that Coach has your back. It will make you go out there and give your all each play.”

Ryan, whose team was a 21/2-point underdog, couldn’t help but feel vindicated by the victory.

“I look at it this way, it’s kind of like being dumped by some girl that you have the hots for,” Ryan said. “Every guy in the room has been dumped by some girl before. But, hey, you move on. Every now and then they call you back, but they can’t get you back.”

Said Bills linebacker Nigel Bradham: “Hopefully he’s got a better one now.”