Jets vs. Bills Preview: Upset Alert At The Meadowlands?
After a heartbreaking loss to the Steelers to open the season at MetLife Stadium last week, the Jets are back at home to host their division rival, the Bills, in a Week 2 matchup that could shape the first half of New York’s season. The current spread has the Jets as 6.5-point underdogs, with the over/under at 47.5 points.
Gang Green’s opening schedule is tough, with matchups with the Bucs, Dolphins (on Monday Night Football), Cowboys, and Broncos (in England) looming after this divisional bout against a team that has won the AFC East five years in a row. Any hopes of a playoff push in the second half of the season relies on the Jets finding a few wins before their Week 9 bye, and the Bills may be ripe for an upset for a few reasons.
How To Beat Josh Allen
Josh Allen has played well in his career against the Jets, going 9-4, with one of those losses coming in a game he started but was then rested in as the Bills already were locked into their spot in the 2019 playoffs.
In those three losses, two of which were at MetLife, Allen’s numbers look more like Zach Wilson than the reigning MVP: 65 for 111 passing, a 59% completion percentage, averaging 216 yards per game, with just one touchdown to seven interceptions, and he was sacked 13 times. To replicate those numbers, getting after Allen with their pass rush that looked promising last week will be key for the Jets. Allen makes most of his mistakes when he is trying to scramble and be too aggressive. He can beat you with his legs, but if you only need to rush four or five, you have enough behind the front four to keep him from running wild and try to force throws downfield.
The Bills also have a young receiving core led by second-year standout Keon Coleman, who will likely be seeing a lot of Sauce Gardner. If Gardner can dominate like he did in Week 1 against DK Metcalf, it takes away a lot of explosive play potential and forces Allen to look to his secondary playmakers.
It will be interesting to see what the time share looks like at safety, with Tony Adams playing 100% of defensive snaps against the Steelers, but grading very poorly. This matches what our eyes told us, that he struggled, and it could be time for rookie Malachi Moore to get more burn. This unit needs to be better to keep this game from being a shootout.
Injuries Will Be A Factor
There are key injuries on both sides in this game, but the biggest one as of now is Ed Oliver. The stud defensive tackle missed 10 games last season, and he is already ruled out of this game. This opens up a huge opportunity for the Jets to have another big game on the ground with the Bills primary run stopper being out.
For the Jets, they already have three players ruled out. Jay Tufele, who had three tackles in Week 1, is out with an illness. This will mean preseason standout Leonard Taylor should make his season debut. Quinnen Williams will be eating double teams at a high volume, and puts Taylor and newly acquired Harrison Phillips in a position to play a pivotal role against the Bills.
Josh Reynolds and Kene Nwangwu will also be out Sunday, which puts more pressure on playmakers not named Garrett Wilson or Breece Hall. Arian Smith and Allen Lazard will need to step up in the passing game for Justin Fields if the Jets hope to move the ball downfield against a vulnerable Buffalo defensive secondary.
Smith will also be called on to be one of the primary returners with Nwangwu out, an injury that led to Xavier Gipson’s game-changing fumble that also cost him his job. Look for Isaiah Davis to return punts and kicks, along with the newly signed Isaiah Williams.
The Jets' Only Hope Is Rushing Dominance
Another shootout like we saw against the Steelers would likely spell danger or the Jets. Josh Allen is coming off a 400-plus total yard performance in which the Bills hung 40 points on the Ravens, a team that is leaps better than New York, so that cannot be the equation in Week 2.
If they can replicate the running game they had in Week 1, but dominate time of possession even more, they will have a chance to win. If Hall has 25 or more touches, and Fields runs the ball effectively while picking his spots against a bad secondary, it is not crazy to say the Jets can end the week with a victory.
Allan’s Prediction
I think the Jets can replicate what worked on offense while tightening up their miscues on defense. If they trail early, it could get ugly, but if this team really is different than last year, they wil build off of a promising Week 1 performance and beat the Bills. I am picking the Jets to beat the Bills 24-17 at MetLife.
