Three things to watch for when the Jets travel to face the Bills
The New York Jets travel to beautiful upstate New York to face the Buffalo Bills for a divisional matchup that might mean the end for one of them in the playoff race with a loss. The Jets have won two of the last three against the Bills including a thrilling overtime win in week one […]
The New York Jets travel to beautiful upstate New York to face the Buffalo Bills for a divisional matchup that might mean the end for one of them in the playoff race with a loss.
The Jets have won two of the last three against the Bills including a thrilling overtime win in week one of this year on Monday Night football. The Jets will look to win two in a row against the Bills for the first time since 2016 when Ryan Fitzpatrick and Bilal Powell lead the Jets offense.
The Jets haven’t won in Buffalo since 2019 when Jamison Crowder scored the lone touchdown of the game on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Sam Darnold and Sam Ficken added two field goals in route to a Jets 13-6 victory.
If recent history is any indicator, this will be a race to 20 points for the victor. The losing team has not scored 20 or more points since 2018 when the Jets won 27-23. The Jets have scored 20 or more points just three times this year with the last time being a week six win against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium.
With that history in mind, here are four things to watch for when the Jets travel to Buffalo.
Three Things to Watch for when Jets take on the Bills
1- Can the offense finally end the touchdown drought?
A lot has been made about the Jets offensive struggles this season and rightfully so. But nobody could have seen 11 quarters without putting one in the end zone. The Jets have eight touchdowns in nine games this year. That is epically bad.
When asked about the offense’s players-only meeting Tuesday, Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett called players holding other players accountable “powerful” and “something that we need” as the Jets try to snap their 11-game touchdown drought.
“We just need to get over that hump, we need to get that first touchdown in a long time,” Hackett said, “and I think that is really going to help us.”
The Bills are fifth in the league giving up only 18+ points per game.
2- The Bills new offensive gameplan
The Bills fired their offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Tuesday following a loss at home to the Denver Broncos, a team that gave up 70 points this season in one game against the Miami Dolphins.
There have been some rumblings about some turmoil in the Bills locker room, mostly coming from Stefon Diggs. His brother, who is on IR for the Dallas Cowboys, Treyvon Diggs put out on social media that his brother needs to get out of Buffalo.
What will the Bills offense look like under new play-caller Joe Brady? Could it be more conservative after so many turnovers from QB Josh Allen?
"I've got to be better," Allen said. "We've got to be better as an offense. Turnover-wise, it's abysmal when we lose, and there's no secret to that. So, there's not a whole lot … it's not like it's broken. We're not a broken offense, we're not a broken team. But the splits compared to when we win and when we lose are massive. Again, that's on my shoulders."
The Jets are seventh in points allowed per game, and have 15 takeaways on the season, including three interceptions by Jordan Whitehead of Josh Allen back in week one. If the Jets can catch the Bills while they are still trying to figure it out, the might be able to capitalize on the struggling offense.
3- Pressure, pressure pressure.
The Jets offensive line did not look good back in week one against Buffalo and things have only gotten harder since then. In week one, Von Miller was still on the PUP list and didn’t play in the game. Miller isn’t the same player he once was as he’s yet to record a sack for the Bills this season in six games, but he is certainly capable of taking over a game.
The Jets will look to Mekhi Becton to keep Von Miller out of the backfield and he feels like he is up to the task.
The Jets meanwhile, threw out their sixth different offensive line combination of the season last Sunday night against the Las Vegas Raiders and who knows what it will be against the Bills.
The Bills are second in the NFL with 33 sacks on the season. The Jets meanwhile, have allowed the third most sacks on the year at 34.
The Jet will be without running back Michael Carter, who was cut by the team on Tuesday and picked up by the Arizona Cardinals on waivers. In his place, the Jets will look to give more reps to rookie Izzy Abanikanda.
The Bills will come into this game as seven-point favorites at home, but considering the Jets were favored against the Raiders and underdogs against the Philadelphia Eagles, this might be right where the Jets want them.
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Featured image via Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
