Buffalo (1-0) at New York Jets (0-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS.
Against the spread: Bills 1-0; Jets 1-0.
Series record: Bills lead 71-58.
Last meeting: Bills beat Jets 23-30 on Oct. 14, 2024, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Last week: Bills beat Ravens 41-40; Jets lost to Steelers 34-32.
Bills offense: overall (1), rush (15), pass (1), scoring (1).
Bills defense: overall (30t), rush (32), pass (16), scoring (31).
Jets offense: overall (5t), rush (4), pass (12t), scoring (5).
Jets defense: overall (12), rush (4), pass (22), scoring (30).
Turnover differential: Bills plus-1; Jets minus-1.
WR Keon Coleman. Stuck at one catch for 12 yards through three quarters against Baltimore, the second-year receiver played a key role in Buffalo’s fourth-quarter rally. Over the final 15 minutes, he caught seven of eight passes for 100 yards, including a 10-yard TD. This is the type of impact the Bills were hoping to get out of the 2024 first-round draft pick following an inconsistent rookie season.
QB Justin Fields. In his debut with the Jets, Fields had a terrific all-around game by going 16 of 22 for 218 yards and a touchdown — a 33-yard strike to Garrett Wilson — and running 12 times for 48 yards and two other scores. His legs can be a key factor again this week against the Bills, who gave up 238 yards rushing in the win over Baltimore, including 70 by QB Lamar Jackson.
Bills' run defense vs. Jets' running game. New York entered the season with a run-first approach under coach Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, and that was on full display in the opener against Pittsburgh. Breece Hall had 107 yards on 19 carries to join Fields, Isaiah Davis (18 yards, two carries) and Braelon Allen (9 yards, six carries) on a ground-and-pound offense that rolled up 182 yards rushing. The Bills know the Jets will likely stick to their game plan and follow the blueprint the Ravens used to give Buffalo's defense fits. Buffalo, however, is thin at tackle with starter Ed Oliver ruled out due to an ankle injury, leaving starter DaQuan Jones and two rookie backups in T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker on the active roster.
Bills: Oliver was ruled out on Friday after he was hurt in practice. ... Starting CB Tre’Davious White (groin) resumed practicing Wednesday for the first time in three weeks and was listed as questionable to play. ... Nickel CB Taron Johnson was also questionable after being limited Thursday and Friday with a quadriceps injury. ... RB James Cook was removed from the injury report Friday after being a full participant for a second straight day after sitting out Wednesday with a hamstring issue.
Jets: CB Sauce Gardner was off the injury report Friday, a day after a groin issue limited him at practice. ... WR Josh Reynolds (hamstring), WR/KR Kene Nwangwu (hamstring) and DT Jay Tufele (illness) were all ruled out. ... Rookie TE Mason Taylor (ankle) was questionable, but practiced fully Friday and should play.
The Bills' .547 winning percentage against the Jets (71-58) is their best against any AFC East opponent. ... Buffalo has won the past three meetings and four of the past five, with the only loss a 22-16 overtime defeat in the 2023 season opener when Aaron Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles tendon four snaps in. ... The teams have faced each other once in the playoffs, a 31-27 victory by the Bills during the 1981 season.
Into his ninth season in Buffalo, Sean McDermott is 11-5 overall against the Jets and one of nine NFL coaches ever to have double-digit victories against them. ... Since 2020, the Bills have outscored the Jets by 117 points, the NFL’s fourth-highest total between two opponents over that span. ... With two rushing TDs against the Ravens, Josh Allen upped his career total to 67, breaking the team mark of 65 previously held by Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas. ... Allen won his 77th start to move into a tie for second with Joe Ferguson on the team list. Hall of Famer Jim Kelly leads with 101 wins. ... Allen had his 10th turnover-free outing in 11 starts, including playoffs, last weekend. He’s 39-10 overall when not committing a turnover, compared to 44-27 when he does, including playoffs. ... Allen’s 251 yards passing in the fourth quarter alone were the most over the final 15 minutes since Boomer Esiason had 252 for Arizona in a win over Washington in 1996. ... Cook has scored a TD rushing in five straight outings. It’s the team’s longest streak since Fred Jackson’s five-game run in 2011. ... The Bills are 22-5 in their past 27 outings with 100 or more yards rushing. ... Going back to 2009, Buffalo had lost 17 straight when allowing 230-plus yards rushing before Sunday, when the Ravens finished with 238. ... With 72 sacks, Joey Bosa is tied for 100th on the NFL list with Matt Judon and Lance Johnson, and one behind Rob Burnett. ... The Bills changed punters Monday, when they signed seventh-year player Cameron Johnston and released Brad Robbins, who averaged 39.5 yards on four punts in the win over the Ravens. ... Glenn is looking for his first NFL head coaching win in his second game as New York's coach. ... Fields joined Mark Sanchez (2011) and Josh McCown (2017) as the only quarterbacks in team history with one or more touchdown throws and two or more TD runs in a game. ... New York scored on four straight drives to open the season for the first time since it accomplished that on its first five drives in 1997 under Bill Parcells. ... The Jets had 11 explosive plays on offense — six runs of 12 or more yards and five passes of 16 or more yards — last week, their highest total since doing so in a loss at Indianapolis in 2021. ... Rookie RT Armand Membou, the No. 7 overall pick, allowed only one pressure, according to Next Gen Stats, on 26 pass blocking snaps. Of those 26, 16 came against four-time All-Pro T.J. Watt. ... Edge rusher Will McDonald had two sacks, three quarterback hits and three pressures in the opener.
After the Bills had trouble stopping the Ravens' ground game last week, Hall is a solid play this week against Buffalo's run defense. He's the clear RB1 for the Jets and caught two passes for 38 yards last week.
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