An inside look at Sunday’s Jets-Bills NFL Week 11 matchup in Orchard Park, N.Y.:
Marquee matchup
Bills WR Stefon Diggs vs. Jets CBs Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed
It is no secret who the No. 1 option for the Bills. Diggs has 73 receptions, 28 more than second place on the team.
The Jets offense runs through Josh Allen finding Diggs, and if you can take him away, the Bills will struggle.
The Broncos held Diggs to three catches in their win over the Bills last week.
“Obviously, he is a fantastic route runner, he is explosive, he is fast, he has got great hands,” Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “He has got amazing contact balance that is part of the ‘it’ too and he has got dawg mentality. I think a big part of it is the relationship between him and Josh, Josh obviously, he is excellent at extending plays and Diggs is one of those guys that is excellent at finding the holes and the soft spots within zones and really navigating the field when the scramble occurs and just they have had so much time together and time on task and they have such a tight relationship regarding that, so it is a big part of his success in this offense.”
Gardner and Reed have played very well again this season.
PFF has them rated No. 4 (Reed) and No. 5 (Gardner) among cornerbacks in the NFL this season.
The Jets have allowed just one touchdown by a wide receiver this season, and that came in Week 1 to Diggs.
Costello’s call
Both teams need this one badly, but I think the Bills need it just a little bit more. The Jets will score a touchdown in this game, but won’t be able to get the win as Josh Allen and the Bills offense play much better than they have recently.
Bills 24, Jets 13
Four downs
Superman’s return: The question entering this game is how much the change at offensive coordinator can boost Bills quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense.
It will be tough for Allen, who has struggled against the Jets defense over the past few years.
Allen threw three interceptions in the season-opener and he leads the league with 11 interceptions and 14 giveaways this season.
Allen has thrown nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 10 career meetings with the Jets, but Gang Green knows he can beat them up if they don’t play well.
“He’s got a little bit of Superman in him where he can just take a game over by himself,” Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “With that type of ability sometimes, he’s tried to get us, and times he has gotten us in the three years we’ve been here and times we’ve gotten him. It’s gonna be a battle. It’s gonna be awesome.”
Small change: While there is a thirst from certain Jets fans to bench Zach Wilson or take play-calling duties from Nathaniel Hackett, the Jets are not going to make major changes to their offense this week. Instead, look for more subtle changes.
The team released running back Michael Carter this week, clearing the way for rookie Israel Abanikanda to be active for the first time and for Dalvin Cook to have a bigger role. They are also planning on having tight end Jeremy Ruckert and wide receiver Jason Brownlee take more snaps while reducing the snaps of veterans C.J. Uzomah and Allen Lazard.
Run over: Though the Jets defense has been very strong overall, they are giving up a lot of rushing yards.
The Jets are 31st in rushing yards allowed in the NFL.
They gave up 148 rushing yards last week against the Raiders.
The Bills may try to get their ground game going under new offensive coordinator Joe Brady and that might be their best path to success against the Jets.
“The explosive plays definitely get the statistics out of whack,” Ulbrich said, “you give up a 42-yard run all the sudden the average per carry goes way up and just the total yards go way up. So, eliminating the explosive is part of it, but it is also from down to down we need to get better at it.”
AFC beast: As bad as it has been for the Jets and Bills, the reality is that the winner of this game is still very much in the race for the division.
The Dolphins lead the AFC East at 6-3 entering Sunday’s game with the Raiders.
If they lose and the Jets beat the Bills, then Friday’s game between the Jets and Dolphins will be for first place.
The Bills have a tough stretch of games coming up.
They play the Eagles in Philadelphia next week, then they have a bye and then they go to Kansas City before playing the Cowboys at home.
We should know if the Bills can save their season with how this stretch plays out.
