The Buffalo Bills will visit the New York Jets at Metlife Stadium on “Monday Night Football” in Week 6. The winner will become the leader in the AFC East.
The Bills (3-2) and Jets (2-3) are both coming off tough losses to good football teams. The Bills fell at the Texans while the Jets lost to the Vikings in London. Both teams are looking to bounce back.
The Bills are mostly searching for answers on offense while the Jets are searching for a new direction for the team after firing their head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday. The Jets’ defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been promoted to interim head coach, while Todd Downing has taken over the offensive play calling for Nathaniel Hackett.
The Bills aren’t exactly sure what to expect given the coaching changes for the Jets, but they’ll be focused on themselves getting back in the win column.
Here are three keys to a Bills win in Week 6:
Play to the strengths of personnel
It took one Khalil Shakir ankle injury for the Bills to learn what they had in their new offensive weapons. Under offensive coordinator Joe Brady, they haven’t had to pass much this year. Josh Allen is tied for 23rd in the NFL in pass attempts.
When they passed, Shakir was the go-to guy. Without him in Week 5, newcomers had to step up. They didn’t.
Mack Hollins, Curtis Samuel, Keon Coleman, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling were targeted a total of 18 times in the loss. They caught just four of the passes.
The pass catchers looked out of place and were misused. Hollins hasn’t made a living on go-balls. MVS in the short field hasn’t been his strong suit. According to former NFL WR Steve Smith, Coleman belongs in the slot. And, Samuel has been nonexistent in the offense. So, why are they being used this way?
It’s still a newly formed unit, and Brady will have to play some chess to figure out how they can be most effective. But, changes ought to be made to how they are being utilized, and quickly.
Don’t let Jets running backs heat up
Jets running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen have been held in check lately on the field. In the last two weeks, they have averaged 37 combined rushing yards per game.
They are capable of much more. They can make defenders miss and are one of the more talented duos in the league. They are threats through the air as well. Both backs have a receiving touchdown this year.
The Bills’ rush defense ranks as eighth-worst in the NFL through five weeks. They give up over 144 yards per game on the ground. Sure, Breece Hall has averaged an abysmal 3.0 yards per carry to start the year, but the Bills defense has allowed big ground games this year. Ed Oliver was ruled out for the game as of Saturday morning, which makes things more difficult for the middle of the Bills defense.
More efficient offense
Last week Allen was 9-for-31 passing (29%). He was 1-of-14 on passes ten or more yards downfield. Under pressure, he was 0-for-15.
What happened? Week 5 was night and day from what we saw the first three weeks when Allen and Brady had the offense humming. After three games, Allen was completing 75% of his passes and the Bills led the league in points per game.
The offense knows they have to be better. An early learning curve is expected due to all the new pieces and having a young OC, but no one expected the curve to look that bad. Eyes will once again be on the Bills offense to see how they turn it around, just like they were last week after their poor performance in Week 4.
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