Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
NFL: New England Patriots at New York Jets
The New York Jets host the Buffalo Bills this Sunday at Metlife Stadium, kickoff at 1:00 p.m. Trying to slow down this high caliber Josh Allen-led offense will be anything but easy.
The Bills currently sit in first place atop the AFC East and are coming off of a dominant 27-17 win over the Green Bay Packers in primetime on Sunday Night Football. Josh Allen is averaging 314 yards per game and has thrown 19 touchdowns to six interceptions through the Bills first weight games. The Jets pass rush needs to become the kryptonite to Allen and his offense if they want any shot at winning this game.
Despite losing to the Patriots last Sunday, the Jets pass rush sacked opposing quarterback Mac Jones six times. Six different players got in on the sack parade further displaying how much depth this Jets pass rush has. The Jets defense has done a great job pressuring the quarterback all season long. Defensive end Carl Lawson has the most quarterback hits/pressures in the league with 45. Quinnen Williams was recently named the AFC’s defensive player of the month of October. His totals for that month were: 23 tackles, 4.5 sacks, four tackles for a loss, 12 quarterback hits and a forced fumble. Gang Green must get sufficient pressure on Josh Allen because he has quite the arsenal to work with.
Perhaps the biggest headline going into this game will be the matchup of Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs versus Jets cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Both players are playing lights out at their respective positions. According to Pro Football Focus, Gardner has a 90.9 coverage grade when in single coverage which is currently the highest among all players with at least 55 coverage snaps. He certainly has lived up to the nickname of “Sauce” thus far. Meanwhile, Diggs has posted a hundred plus yards receiving and a touchdown in the past three games. According to nfl.com, the Bills have won 11 straight games when Diggs goes for a hundred yards or more in a game. Get your popcorn ready.
Looking at the Jets offensive line, they did not perform well last week against New England. Quarterback Zach Wilson didn’t seem to have a single play in which his pocket was clean. He threw three interceptions and was sacked twice. The hogs up front need to provide Wilson with much more protection this Sunday with pass rushers Von Miller and Greg Rousseau coming to town.
Jets left tackle Duane Brown who is expected to suit up for Sunday’s game, has quite a tall task ahead of him. Von Miller has the seventh highest pass rush win rate as an edge defender, winning 24 percent of the time. Miller currently has six sacks on the season to boot. Wilson is in for another rough afternoon if the offensive line doesn’t shore up for this matchup. This Bills defense has also surrendered just 98 total points through seven games.
Prediction:
The Jets offensive line will be facing arguably an even more aggressive defensive front than they did against New England. This does not bode well for Wilson based on how they played last Sunday and the fact that left tackle Duane Brown is returning from a shoulder injury. Couple that with the fact that the Bills offense is the best in the league right now and it will be quite an uphill battle for the Jets. I see the Bills taking this game by a score of 31-17.
Things to Note:
- Offensive lineman Duane Brown and Nate Herbig expected to suit up on Sunday, wide receiver Corey Davis did not practice again Thursday.
- It is worth keeping an eye on Bills star linebacker Matt Milano as he has a good chance of not suiting up on Sunday as he is dealing with an oblique injury.
