Top 3 Individual Matchups
1 – Jerry Hughes vs. Kelvin Beachum
A couple of veterans square off in this matchup up front. Hughes is tied for the team lead in sacks, leads the team in QB hits, forced fumbles and is second in tackles for loss. Beachum better be ready.
2 – Jordan Mills vs. Leonard Williams
Williams will be a handful as he's one of the more dominant one-on-one players in the league. Mills may need some assistance from a tight end or chipping back at times to keep Williams in check.
3 – Terrelle Pryor vs. Morris Claiborne
Pryor's first game against his former team will likely see a good deal of Claiborne in this game. The Bills new wideout will be motivated to turn in some game-changing plays.
Bills Top 2 Advantages
Good advantage – Pass rush
Buffalo's front four have been pretty successful getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Sam Darnold has struggled against four-man rushes, throwing 13 of his 14 interceptions this season against normal pass rushes.
Best advantage – Pass defense
The Bills defensive backfield hasn't been as successful as last season in logging takeaways, but they have been holding opposing passers down on the stat sheet. They're giving up just over 200 yards passing per game, good for third in the league.
Bills Number 1 Must
Force turnovers
Over the last four games, Buffalo's defense and special teams have forced just four turnovers. They need to be at least a plus-two against the Jets in the turnover margin to give their offense more opportunities to score.
Scouting Eye
Darnold dinged
Coming out of the Jets game at Miami, Sam Darnold has been hampered by a mid-foot sprain. He was not able to practice on Wednesday and more and more it looks like veteran Josh McCown will get the start Sunday against the Bills. Jets reporters are calling Darnold's injury a potential blessing in light of the rookie's recent struggles.
Darnold has completed just 47 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and seven interceptions in his last three games.
Enunwa back in the fold
The Jets passing game was without it's leading receiver for two games in Weeks 7 and 8. But Quincy Enunwa returned from a bad ankle sprain last week to post three catches for 40 yards in the Jets loss at Miami. Despite missing two games, Enunwa still leads the team in receptions, is second in receiving yards and leads the club in yards after the catch.
Big play victims
New York's defense has been victimized by the big play a good deal this season. Through their first nine games, the Jets have surrendered the fifth-highest number of 20-plus yard plays in the league. Opponents have racked up 40-such plays against New York this season, good for more than four per game. Twelve of those plays have come in their last three games.
Getting off the field
Since we're talking about the offense, this hasn't been a good situation for the Jets. Sustaining drives has proven to be a big problem for their attack. Darnold and company are going three-and-out an awful lot so far this season. In fact, the Jets have the second-highest three-and-out percentage in the league at 28 percent (33-118). Only the Arizona Cardinals go three-and-out more.
Shotgun problem?
Jets C Spencer Long has been dealing with an injured middle finger on his snapping hand the last several weeks. It has affected his ability to snap accurately out of the shotgun. Last week against the Dolphins he had about a half-dozen errant snaps. The last one was a killer coming with the Jets on the Miami 42-yard line down 13-3 in the fourth quarter. He snapped it clear over Darnold's head.
The Jets benched him and replaced him with backup Jonotthan Harrison. Long said the issue is both a physical and mental one at this point.
Buffalo Chips
Quote of the week "It's frustrating not playing for me. I'm a competitor and I'm sure a lot of other people who can't play because of an injury or their pride or their ego, they want to be out on the field. The reason I want to be out on the field is to help my team whatever way I can. When I can't it hurts me. To be back out here and being with the guys and putting on my helmet and strapping it up, it feels like football again."
--QB Josh Allen
Stat of the week
DE Jerry Hughes has the third-most quarterback pressures in the league this season with 46.
Milestones in reach
Lorenzo Alexander with 1.5 sacks or more, will mark the 12th time in NFL history a player has recorded three multi-sack games in a single season at 35 years or older.
LeSean McCoy needs 77 yards from scrimmage to reach 14,000 for his career and become the 36th player in NFL history to reach that plateau.
Stephen Hauschka with his next field goal will have 234 in his career, which will place him in the top 50 all-time in NFL history (tied with #50 Lou Groza).
Final note
The New York Jets have the worst red zone offense in the AFC (37.5% success rate).
