The New York Jets are back on Monday night Football for the second time this season. This time at home at Metlife Stadium as they play divisional rival The Buffalo Bills with first place on the line.
The Jets come into this game sorta in a new era as former Head Coach Robert Saleh is gone. It’s now Jeff Ulbrich’s time to shine, promoted from Defensive Coordinator. He will now coach his first game as the Jets head coach.
The Jets come into this game with a record of 2-3, having lost two games in a row. It has been an offensive struggle for the Jets as of late, only scoring two touchdowns in the last two games.
New York ranks 27th in total yards offensively, second in defense, and 25th in scoring. They are tied for 18th in turnover differential with a differential of zero.
Meanwhile, Buffalo comes in at 3-2 also having lost two games in a row. Buffalo has as well had offensive struggles in these last two games with Josh Allen failing to reach two hundred passing yards in either game. Last week, he went 9 for 30 passing with only 131 yards.
Buffalo ranks 23rd in offense, 21st in defense, and fourth in scoring. They rank second in turnover differential with a plus seven differential.
The main reason for this? Josh Allen has not thrown an interception the entire year so far. This will be a key to the game for the Jets. They have to win the turnover battle and get Josh Allen to throw that first pick of the year.
In their last four games against Josh Allen, he has thrown five touchdowns but six interceptions. Now Allen has taken care of the ball this season, but the Jets defense will need to create some massive plays to give their offense better chances of getting going. If they can find a way to pick off Allen that would be huge for them.
Buffalo hasn’t been able to produce lately because of the lack of dynamic ability from their receiving core. New York’s secondary has been outstanding so that is a matchup they must take advantage of, and dominate to make it even more difficult for Allen. The defense has to do everything in their power to disrupt Allen, and make him as uncomfortable as possible.
For New York’s offense they come into this game with a new play caller. Nathaniel Hackett was demoted from offensive coordinator in favor of Todd Downing. Downing most recently spent two seasons as Offensive Coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. Statistically, Downing isn’t a massive upgrade over Hackett. Finishing his two seasons in Tennessee finishing with the 17th and 30th ranked offenses each season.
At this point though, any change from Hackett has to be seen as an upgrade. The Jets offense was stagnant, predictable, and lacked any creativity under Hackett. The offense has been costing them in these games. It’s the main reason they are 2-3, one positive note for the change to Downing is that his red zone conversion rate with the Titans ranked sixth, and eighth, according to Senior Writer of the Jets from the Athletic Zack Rosenblatt.
Now of course, those Tennessee teams had a running back named Derrick Henry. The Jets do have a player by the name of Breece Hall who they need to find a way to get going. Hall was supposed to be a significant part of the offense this season but the Jets rank at the dead bottom of the league in rushing. If the Jets want to win they need to find a way to run the ball better.
That will be the most interesting part to see what changes Downing makes to the game plan in order to open up the running game. Will he be aggressive early in the passing game to open up the running lanes? Or will he try to make a statement from the opening snap to try and establish the running game. Either way, Downing and the Jets need to find some life on offense if they want any shot to win this game.
The Bills rank 25th against the run this season, so if there was a game for New York to finally get the running game going, it would be this game. Aaron Rodgers had a rare three interception game last week. That can’t happen again, nor should you ever expect Rodgers to turn the ball over that much.
If Rodgers can get in a groove early, the Jets are a team that can win any game. They just haven’t been able to start games off good. With a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator, New York has to start this game off fast to give the fans some hope that this team is going to start heading in the right direction. They need to avoid the sloppy starts, and be more disciplined as a team. That will be the biggest challenge for Ulbrich in his first game while also still calling the defensive plays.
The Jets defense should hold up against Buffalo. They match up well with them especially in the secondary. The major takeaway is how will the offense look? Will it be the same old Jets who struggle to put up points? Or will this offense finally play up to their potential and earn a big divisional win to take first place?
This is going to be a hard nose gritty football game. It will not be easy for the Jets but this is a winnable game. They just have to show up ready and prepared in all three phases of the game, but especially on offense.
My final prediction, MetLife Stadium will be roaring under the lights with passionate Jets fans. With a new Head Coach, a new Offensive Coordinator, I believe the Jets come out highly motivated. The Defense will be on fire bringing pressure to Josh Allen. The offense will show some improvements from the last two weeks, and this will be just good enough for the Jets to pull out a 20-17 victory over the Bills.
Just like that, with all the headlines, with all the struggles to start the season. The New York Jets will be 3-3, and in first place in the AFC East heading into week seven. That’s just my prediction though, The Jets will have to show us what they are capable of under the lights of Monday Night Football.
