The Jets don’t have much to brag about recently, but they do play the Bills tough at home.
The last three meetings between these old AFL rivals have been decided by a touchdown or less, with the Jets winning two of them.
Last season, Buffalo needed a late fourth-quarter field goal to escape with a 23-20 win at MetLife Stadium to drop Gang Green into a 2-4 hole a week after firing head coach Robert Saleh.
But Sunday afternoon’s meeting features a new coaching staff, led by Aaron Glenn, trying to give the winners of five consecutive AFC East titles a battle.
“They racked up a ton of yards,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said about Glenn’s Jets after their difficult 34-32 loss to the Steelers. “They held the ball, they held the ball away from Aaron [Rodgers] there. This is a good team.
“By all accounts, they should have won that game. You can tell they are trying to revamp things there. It reminds me of our early years here. Good coaches on both sides of the ball there and certainly a talented roster as well.”
If Glenn’s tenure with the Jets is anything like McDermott’s with the Bills, Gang Green will be in great shape. During his eight previous seasons in Buffalo, McDermott has led the Bills to seven playoff appearances.
Glenn is hoping to turn around a Jets organization that hasn’t sniffed the playoffs since 2010, which is the longest postseason drought in North American sports. In the meantime, Glenn hopes to get his first coaching victory against the Bills following the heartbreaking two-point loss to the Steelers last week.
The Jets (0-1) actually led by nine points entering the fourth quarter. However, the Steelers scored 17 points in the final 15 minutes, including Chris Boswell’s 60-yard field goal, to win the game.
But the Jets offense played well enough to defeat the Steelers. Glenn stated in training camp and the preseason that the Jets would be a run-heavy offense and that certainly was the case. They rushed for 182 yards, including 107 from running back Breece Hall.
Not only was the rushing attack a catalyst for the Jets offense, but so was quarterback Justin Fields in his first start for Gang Green. He was efficient getting the ball to his receivers after completing 16-of-22 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown pass. Fields also used his legs to evade pass rushers, registering 48 yards and two scores on the ground.
Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand has high expectations for the team’s offense. The team counts explosive plays as passes of 16 or more yards and runs of 12 or more yards. By those measures, the Jets offense performed well against the Steelers recording 11 explosive plays.
“I’ve really enjoyed learning and getting to be in this offense and learn from Tanner and kind of bounce ideas off of each other,” Fields said. “I think he’s a great OC I think he has a great offensive mind, and he’s going to get our players where they need to be, where it best fits them.
“I think there’s a difference between knowledge of the game and when you get in the game moments. He does a really good job of that, kind of listening to me in terms of what I like, what I don’t like, and stuff like that. I appreciate that coming from him. Like I’ve been saying since we got here, he’s a great offensive mind, he knows what he’s talking about. I knew he was glad to be out there Sunday calling plays again as an OC.”
As surprising as the Jets’ offense was in the opener, their defense was shockingly poor against Pittsburgh. They allowed 34 points which they only did twice last season.
In particular, cornerback Brandon Stephens, whom the Jets signed to a three-year, $36 million contract in March, struggled because of coverage issues and “bad eyes,” according to defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. He made costly errors in the fourth quarter, which helped the Steelers secure the comeback win.
Stephens gave up five receptions for 60 yards on seven targets. Overall, Rodgers threw for four touchdown passes against the Jets defense.
The task doesn’t get any easier as the Jets’ defense will face the reigning NFL MVP in Josh Allen, who led the Bills (1-0) to three scores in four minutes to narrowly defeat the Ravens, 41-40. Allen completed 33 of 46 passes for 394 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 30 yards and two TDs.
As bad as their defense performed in Week 1, Allen understands how tough the Jets can be.
In 13 career games against the Jets, Allen has thrown 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and has a passer rating of 85.7.
“They have some absolute studs on this defense,” Allen said about the Jets. “Really solid, they get after the quarterback really well. They work together really well and their front and back ends are working in unison right now.
“We are going to have our hands full. We only have one game of tape, so we gotta trust our base rules and be prepared for whatever they can throw in front of us.”
Glenn also knows firsthand how dangerous Allen can be. He faced the Bills last year when he was the Lions defensive coordinator in their 48-42 loss to Buffalo.
“Obviously he was the MVP, so there’s a number of things that he does well,” Glenn said. “He’s big, he’s physical. The one thing that really stands out about him is he’s highly, highly competitive, and he is one of those guys that can will his team to victory.
“So, that’s one thing that we have to do a really good job of, our will has to be stronger than his will, and that’s a challenge in itself because of who he is. So, this is going to be a game of who’s going to out-will each other. These games between these two teams have always been pretty tight for the most part. He brings a lot to the table.”
Since the 12-team playoff era began in 1990, only 32 team (11.5%) made the postseason. Falling to 0-2 would be difficult for the Jets, especially considering their upcoming schedule.
After starting the season with back-to-back home games, the Jets will have two consecutive games in Florida. First, they face the Buccaneers before having a divisional Monday night game against the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
Then the Jets return home in Week 5 to play the Cowboys before playing the Broncos in London. That’s why Sunday’s game and avoiding a 0-2 start are critical for the Jets.
“I look at each game in itself, and say, listen, ‘I come to win every game,’ Glenn said. “It doesn’t matter, they all mean the same to me, to be honest with you. But I get the mentality of that because it is, it’s the quickest way to get to the playoffs, is you win your division.
“But man, I want to win every game, and it doesn’t matter who’s across there from me. It doesn’t matter at all. We want to go out there and we want to execute and we want to show our brand of football no matter who we play against.”
