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The Buffalo Bills will head to New York for a matchup with the Jets on Sunday. It was long expected that it’ll be the first time they’ll be facing a quarterback not named Sam Darnold there in awhile.
But in a few short weeks, the Bills (5-3) have been thrown a curve ball.
Due to injury, the Jets (2-6) have turned things over from rookie QB Zach Wilson to essential rookie Mike White.
In another turn of events, White has played very well in his brief time under center. That included two weeks ago when White won the AFC Offensive Player of the Week Award. It was his first-career start.
That good play out of the gate for White also has him ridiculously confident as his Sunday meeting with the Bills approaches.
Earlier this week, White, a fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2018, said he didn’t know why he was picked where he was at the draft.
“I couldn’t tell you. That’s definitely the scouting departments across the league and what their interpretation of me is,” White said via Jets Wire. “I have 100 percent confidence in myself. So if you ask me, I should have been a first-overall pick. But that’s neither here nor there. That’s four years ago. I try to get my mind off that and be in the here and now and execute what my job is right now.”
While certainly not pulling any punches, White did essentially say he thought he should have been drafted higher than another quarterback that will be at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Buffalo’s Josh Allen, the No. 7 overall pick by the Bills that same year.
But there could be an internal reason why White might have reason to carry himself in such a manner.
The Bills have had a good defense this year. White will have his hands full in Week 10.
However, White’s coach in Robert Saleh did express some confidence in him.
Given the opportunity to say Wilson would start again when he is 100 percent healthy, Saleh did not. Instead, the Jets head coach waffled a bit, saying White has deserved his chance while only slightly referencing Wilson’s knee injury.
“We had a feeling on Monday with Zach’s knee, that he’s not fully ready to go,” Saleh said. “Mike, obviously, got all his strength back. He feels good, no residual effects from Thursday, so we’re going with Mike.”
“If Mike is playing phenomenal football, it is what it is,” Saleh added. “You might call it a controversy or not, but I think I can pull up an article on every single one of you guys that has mentioned that the best thing for a young quarterback is to watch. So, there’s no harm in either way. We have the utmost confidence in Zach when he gets ready to play and he gets back on the football field that he’s going to do a phenomenal job. His talent is undeniable. There is a great amount of growth that can happen, whether he’s playing or not. Those are facts.”
Evidently the Jets have two guys capable of “phenomenal” play at this time…
Buffalo’s defense will have something to say about that.
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