Top 3 Individual Matchups1. Kris Jenkins vs. Duke Preston – Again much like the first matchup Preston will get help from guards Brad Butler and Derrick Dockery inside, but Jenkins has been difficult to contain all season long. It'll be interesting to see if the Bills staff has some different blocking schemes for the certain Pro Bowl defensive tackle.
- Ty Law vs. Lee Evans – The wiley veteran cornerback was signed not long after Buffalo's first meeting with the Jets and has stepped into the starting lineup. Law knows how to sit on routes, but it's likely that Turk Schonert will have Evans test Law's aging legs more than anything.
- Laveranues Coles vs. Leodis McKelvin – With Jabari Greer out the rookie faces a savvy vet in Coles. The Jets wideout won't blow anyone's doors off, but is physical and has a way of creating space for himself to make plays. McKelvin has progressed nicely through the course of the season and facing another veteran wideout is nothing new.
Top 2 Bills Advantages
Good Advantage – Red zone defense – The Bills still know how to hold opponents to field goals despite the team's struggles as a whole this season. Buffalo ranks fourth in the league in red zone defense holding opponents to a touchdown percentage of under 43 percent. They've allowed just 18 touchdowns inside the red zone this season on 42 opportunities. The Jets are a middle of the pack team when it comes to red zone touchdown percentage.
Best Advantage - Third down defense – Perry Fewell's unit on the whole this season has done a much better job of getting off the field on third down. Ranked ninth in the league, Buffalo is facing a Jets offense that's in a bit of a slump when it comes to sustaining drives. The Jets have gone 4-for-21 on third downs the past two weeks.
Bills #1 Must
Win time of possession – The Bills have had problems of late extending drives and converting third downs on offense. Buffalo has to run more effectively than they did in their first meeting with New York and spread the Jets defense out in third down situations to create more options for J.P. Losman and hopefully move the chains with some form of consistency. If not, the defense will wilt if forced to play another 35-38 minutes on the field.
Scouting eye
Run game running hot: The Jets have been getting a ton of production on the ground this season in yards and points. Thomas Jones leads the AFC in rushing (1,144 yards) and is averaging over 108 yards rushing per game in his last four outings. He's also scored a touchdown in seven straight games and is one TD from setting the franchise record for touchdowns in a single season. His backfield mate Leon Washington has also proven dangerous with four touchdowns in his last four games, though one came on a kick return. New York currently ranks ninth in the league in rushing.
The Jets are 7-2 this season when Jones reaches the end zone.
Green light in red zone: The Jets might not be the best team in the NFL when it comes to scoring touchdowns in the red zone (15th), but they are the best in terms of getting down inside their opponent's 20-yard line. No other team in the AFC has made more trips inside the red zone than the Jets with 55 opportunities in 13 games. As a result no other AFC team has scored more touchdowns in the red zone than New York as they have 29 on the season.
Closing them out: Though the Jets have not done so in their last two games, on the whole they've been able to close out games with long possession in the fourth quarter. In the first meeting with Buffalo, New York chewed up over 8:40 before a Jay Feely field goal iced the win. They also ate up the final 11 minutes of their game against St. Louis in a 47-3 rout.
The Jets lead the NFL in five minute drives with 28 this season and most touchdowns scored on those drives (15).
Tough run front: New York's run front has been stout all season long, due in large part to Kris Jenkins prowess inside. Ranked fourth in the NFL in run defense the Jets are allowing just over 83 yards rushing per game to their opponents. Even more impressive is the Jets have held five opponents to less than 50 yards rushing this season, which is tops in the league. The Bills were one of those teams in their first meeting with the Jets as Buffalo managed just 30 yards rushing on 17 carries. New York is 7-0 when holding opponents to under 100 yards rushing.
Strip search: On the season the Jets have forced 20 fumbles on defense with cornerback Dwight Lowery and linebacker Calvin Pace pacing the unit with three apiece. With all those opportunities New York has been able to recover 12 of those forced fumbles, good for second in the league. Pace has four of those recoveries tying him for first in the NFL.
Harris back: New York's leading tackler last season was not in uniform for the Jets' first meeting with the Bills due to a groin injury. He returned to the Jets lineup last week and admittedly played more snaps than head coach Eric Mangini wanted him to due to the knee injury suffered by fellow inside linebacker Eric Barton last week at San Francisco. But Harris came through the game well making 13 tackles and a half sack. He's practiced on a limited basis this week, but is expected to start on Sunday.
Keller emerging: New York's second first-round pick is panning out better than their first in their rookie campaigns. Vernon Gholston can't get on the field, but tight end Dustin Keller is making plays. Over the past five games Keller leads the Jets with 29 receptions for 327 yards and touchdowns. Those numbers over the past five games stand second-best in the NFL among tight ends.
Buffalo Chips
Quote of the week
"It is a team and as a team you all haven't seen me in this situation talking to you guys so you all haven't got to hear my piece. So I'm going to speak my piece for the run game. You can blame it on whoever you want to blame it on, but if you are looking for the right person to blame it on I'm right here."
--Marshawn Lynch
Stat of the week
The Bills have a 5-1 record against 4-3 defensive fronts this season and 1-6 against 3-4 fronts.
Milestones in reachLee Evans needs 87 receiving yards for the second 1,000-yard season of his career. He also needs just four receptions to move into seventh place on the team's all-time receptions list.
Marshawn Lynch needs 125 rushing yards for 1,000 on the season.
Leodis McKelvin needs 47 kick return yards to move into fourth place on the team's all-time list for kick return yards in a season.
Final note
J.P. Losman has a career passer rating of 111.1 against the Jets.
