For the 120th time in professional football history, the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets square off this Sunday, with this Week 1 matchup from Orchard Park.
The Bills lead the series between the two, 63-56, however, it’s a new year and the “any given Sunday” mentality has never gone away. That’s double the case during a divisional matchup, so both teams will have to pull the right strings in order to walk away with a victory here.
With that, let’s take a look at the keys to victory for both the Bills and Jets heading into the season opener:
Jets’ 3 keys to the game
Saved by your Bell
One thing most can agree on looking at the Jets offense is that running back Le’Veon Bell is the best weapon at quarterback Sam Darnold‘s disposal. While it was lower than expected from Bell last season, he still accumulated over 1100 yards of offense, between rushing and receiving. Bell should forever be Darnold’s safety valve.
Even Tom Brady isn’t shy about throwing short passes to running backs, such as James White during his time with the Patriots, who would turn those short passes for a big gain. Bell should be game planned in that manner every week and be available if the Bills’ pass rush gets going.
Bell still has one of the best “stop and go” techniques in the NFL, and it will come in handy if the Jets want to have a chance of winning.
Let Darnold Air the Ball Out
Looking at things from the Jets perspective, the defense leaves a lot to be desired, so Darnold may have to make this a shootout if they want a chance to win. The receiving core isn’t great, but there’s potential. Some of these players have been in the league for a long time, and there’s a reason for that.
While the Bills rush defense was weaker last season by comparison to their skill against the pass, the Jets have to still keep the Bills on their heels. Darnold should air the ball out, utilizing a mix of short to mid range passes to move the chains. No need to chance a long ball here, especially since he lost his best deep threat, Robby Anderson, to free agency. Until rookie Denzel Mims emerges, Breshad Perriman may be his best target, who had a decent outing in the last few weeks of the season last year with Tampa Bay. But also the Bills can’t sleep on Jamison Crowder. Often overlook, he smoked Buffalo’s defense a year ago. Between two games against the Bills, Crowder amassed 22 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown.
Contain and Prevent
There are some decent players on this defensive squad, although it does not have safety Jamal Adams or linebacker C.J. Mosley. This team, if scripted properly, and plays efficiently, could have the means of slowing down the Bills offense.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen can be dangerous with his feet, and jet out in an instant if he senses pressure. The Bills coaching staff has aimed to keep him the pocket moreso, but the ability to wisely and safely escape is invaluable in today’s NFL. Rush the front three, with their two inside linebackers, and have the outside LB’s keep an eye out for Allen, or potential dumps to running backs Devin Singletary or Zack Moss.
The Bills have a strange history of beating themselves in games against the Jets, and a well executed game plan on defense, will give them the opening they need to start the season 1-0. They almost pulled it off last year, and 2019 turned out to be a tire fire for Gang Green.