The Bills have their second AFC East matchup of the season in Week 6. Heading into it they sit atop the division with a 3-2 record, while the Jets are in second with a 2-3 record.
Here are five storylines to follow ahead of the Monday night's game between the Bills and the Jets.
😮1. A new coach in Florham Park
There are some big changes in Florham Park, NJ this week. After starting the season 2-3, Jets owner Woody Johnson relieved head coach Robert Saleh of his duties on Tuesday morning.
Johnson put out a statement that read: "This was not an easy decision, but we are not where we should be given our expectations, and I believe now is the best time for us to move in a different direction."
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will serve as their interim head coach. Ulbrich has served as the DC for the Jets since 2021.
Saleh was 20-36 and did not make it to the playoffs during his three and a half years as the Jets head coach. The offense dealt with several changes in those years as there were six different starting quarterbacks under Saleh – Zach Wilson, Mike White, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco, Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle.
Johnson's statement also revealed why Ulbrich is taking the reins: "He is a tough coach who has the respect of the coaches and players on this team. I believe he along with the coaches on this staff can get the most out of our talented team and attain the goals we established this offseason."
Ulbrich met with the media on Tuesday afternoon. The interim head coach opened his press conference expressing his love for Saleh. The former DC stated he believes the team is capable of having success.
"We have been underperforming for whatever reason, and we're going to take a hard look at all of it," Ulbrich said. "At the end of the day, I'm going to be me. I have tremendous love and respect for this team…I really believe (if) we lock arms, we commit to the process that we put in place and we will have success. We will."
Interim head coaches are 16-13 in their first game coaching since 2010 according to Fox Sports.
🎻2. Fine tuning things on offense
Buffalo began the season averaging more than 30 points per game but in the last two have averaged just 15 points per game. In relation to the passing attack, head coach Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator Joe Brady said they remain confident in the players inside the building.
"I'm confident in those guys, confident that we can put them in positions to use their talents and their potential," McDermott said. "We're going to work hard at that as we continue forward. And we do need to improve in that area as a whole here, so we got to do a better job on winning first downs and staying out of third-and-long."
ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky believes one reason why quarterback Josh Allen and his playmakers have had a tough time connecting is due to the coverages they're facing.
"The past two weeks in Baltimore and Houston, they're playing better coverage," Orlovsky said on One Bills Live. "Their guys are more physical at the line of scrimmage. That's the big thing is there's not much separation at the line of scrimmage, winning at the line of scrimmage. It'll demand more creativity. It'll demand more bunches and stacks to help those guys win."
In order to fine tune things, Brady believes it's important to take a step back and come together as an offense.
"Let's come together (with) communication, collaboration," Brady said. "It's a long season, you don't want these things to happen, but when they do, it's 'Hey, how do you respond to it?' There's never a lack of confidence and never a lack of urgency…I don't like the results of the game, but there's a lot of stuff that we were going to have to clean up regardless of if we won the game."
Buffalo is still a top 10 team in the red zone scoring touchdowns 66.7% of the time (tied for 7th best). They've also been protecting the football as they have only two turnovers (tied for the lowest in the NFL).
👺3. Becoming a better third down defense
Through five weeks the Bills defense is allowing a 43.9% conversion rate on third downs. That rate ranks 24thin the NFL. Against the Ravens, the Bills allowed conversions on five of Baltimore's nine third down attempts (55.5%). Against Houston, Buffalo allowed eight conversions on 16 of the Texans' attempts (50%).
Head coach Sean McDermott believes the defense needs to do a better job of working together on third downs.
"There's a little bit of some mental busts going on," McDermott said. "Some just being out-executed. So at the end of the day, I think, which you saw when we had success against Houston, was the rush and the coverage working together. So, we need to make sure that is happening on a more consistent basis."
The Jets have been struggling offensively over the last two weeks as they've averaged just 13 points per game. One reason why the points have been low is because of their inability to convert on third downs. Against Minnesota last week, the Jets struggled on third down only converting 29.4% of their third down opportunities (5-17). In Week 4 against the Broncos, the Jets converted just 23.5% of their third downs (4-17).
"They've got to be better on early downs on offense," ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky told One Bills Live. "They average 3.3 yards on first and second downs. That's the worst in the NFL."
While the Jets have struggled with certain aspects of their offense, defensive coordinator Bobby Babich is still mindful of the fact that a four-time MVP in Aaron Rodgers is their quarterback. Babich said the defense will have to make sure they're executing at a high level.
"He's seen it all," Babich said of the fact that Rodgers isn't fooled by much. "So, we got to do a good job of just changing the picture as late as possible on him. It's a challenge. Obviously, Aaron Rodgers is one of the best to ever play the game and there's not a whole lot that's going to fool him. So, not only is it disguise but it's our execution."
The defense has been taking the ball away at a high rate to start the season. They have nine takeaways which ranks top 5 in the league. Rodgers has thrown four interceptions through five weeks of play.
😤4. Taking on a tough Jets defense
The Bills are 7-4 against the Jets with quarterback Josh Allen as their starter. In five of those 11 contests, the game has been decided by seven points or less.
The Jets have found a way to keep things close in almost half of their matchups against the Bills with Allen as their starter because of their defense. The Jets have had a top five defense the last two seasons (2023 – allowed 292.3 total yards per game, 3rd / 2022 – allowed 311.1 total yards per game, 4th) and look to be on the same path this year.
Allen has 18 total touchdowns, averages 232 passing yards per game and an 81.5 passer rating against the Jets in his career.
The Bills offense will be tested again in this game because the Jets defense is the second-best in the NFL through five weeks allowing an average of 255.8 total yards per game. They're also allowing 4.3 yards per play (lowest in the NFL), 136.3 passing yards per game (2nd lowest), have 18 sacks (4th best) and have allowed just two passing touchdowns (tied for 2nd lowest).
When it comes to having success against their tough defense, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky said the offense needs to be ready for the Jets' physical style of play at the line of scrimmage and beyond.
"The Jets are going to challenge Buffalo on the perimeter to get open down the field and either win or force flags," Orlovsky said reflecting on how they dared refs to throw flags in their last game. "That's going to be the biggest challenge for that offense."
🌃5. Last primetime game till December
Week 6 marks Buffalo's last primetime game until December. The Bills won't play in the primetime window again until their Week 13 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football.
Although, there's always a chance for a game to get flexed to primetime. Flexing can happen between Weeks 5-10 and Weeks 11-17 on Sunday Night Football and Weeks 12-17 on Monday Night Football.
October 14th also marks Buffalo's last MNF game of the season, unless one gets flexed. This is the Bills' final of three straight away games. Buffalo only has one more stretch of back-to-back away games.
Buffalo still has four games ahead in the 4:00 PM window – Week 8 at Seattle, Week 11 vs. Kansas City, Week 14 at Los Angeles and Week 15 at Detroit.
