It's the first and only time this season that Buffalo is at Highmark Stadium for a second week in a row. This week will feel extra short as the Bills are coming off a tough Monday night loss and have a new coach calling the plays on offense.
Here's five things to know ahead of Sunday's game against the Jets.
1. A look at new play caller Joe Brady
Bills quarterbacks coach Joe Brady will have a bigger role within the offense now as he adds play caller to his title due to Ken Dorsey being relieved of his OC duties.
Brady is no stranger to working with talented quarterbacks and weapons, so it'll be interesting to see what he can do with Buffalo's offense in the final seven games of the season.
"He comes with some experience," McDermott said of Brady. "I think overall, just his day-to-day command of his job more than anything. And it's like anything else, some of this is a projection and (I) also want to see what he can do in this role. He has a close relationship with Josh (Allen) as the quarterback coach.
"And we've talked, we talked this afternoon and earlier this morning. And he's got some ideas, we'll see where it goes from here."
The 34-year-old was hired by the Bills in February 2022 to take over as the quarterbacks coach. Prior to Buffalo, Brady spent almost two seasons as Carolina's offensive coordinator under former Panthers head coach Matt Rhule. During the 2020 season, Brady coached an offense that was just the fifth unit in the Super Bowl era to have four different players with more than 1,000 scrimmage yards.
The new play caller is most known from his time at LSU. Brady was the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2019. He worked with what some call one of college football's best offenses as it was led by QB Joe Burrow and wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. LSU won the National Championship that season and finished with a perfect 15-0 record.
Burrow won the Heisman and finished the season with a record 60 passing touchdowns and a 202 passer rating. Chase racked up 84 catches for 1,780 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. Jefferson totaled 111 receptions for 1,540 receiving yards and scored 18 touchdowns.
Before LSU, Brady was an offensive assistant for the Saints from 2017-2018. He was also a graduate assistant for Penn State from 2015-2016. Brady is a William & Mary grad and started his coaching there as the linebackers coach from 2013-2014.
2. An important stretch ahead
After going through back-to-back losses for the first time this season, Buffalo will try to get back to playing winning football with a tough stretch ahead. In the next three games, the Bills will play against the first-place team in the AFC (Chiefs) and NFC (Eagles).
Up next, a meaningful game for Buffalo against the Jets slated for Sunday afternoon. The Bills are currently 1-2 in the division and are sitting in second place. If they want a chance at winning the AFC East, a victory against the Jets is crucial.
Coming off Jets week, the Bills will take on the No. 1 team in the NFC, better known as the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles currently have a three-game win streak going but will have to face the Chiefs before playing Buffalo.
Following the Week 12 game against the Eagles, Buffalo will finally have their bye week. And in Week 14, they'll face the Chiefs who are currently the No. 1 team in the AFC. Kansas City will play the Eagles, Raiders and Packers before facing Buffalo.
The Bills are currently at No. 10 in the conference standings, which means they're outside of the playoff picture. Things can quickly change for the better if the Bills can start stacking wins again.
3. Can the Bills D create turnovers vs. Zach Wilson?
Buffalo got back to taking the football away against the Broncos after having two games without one. Nickel cornerback Taron Johnson forced a fumble that cornerback Rasul Douglas recovered on Monday night. Buffalo was able to turn the takeaway into points as they marched down the field to tie things up with Denver in the third quarter.
"That was good to see," McDermott said of forcing a turnover. "I mean, the guys were playing hard. They were playing fast, and they were physical. And when you do that, (the football) comes out. So, super excited to see us run to the football and really outwork people right there."
Buffalo's defense will look to stack more takeaways with an opportunity to do so on Sunday against a Zach Wilson-led offense. Wilson has six interceptions (tied for 13th) and the offense has 14 total turnovers (t-20th) so far this season.
The Jets offense has struggled to score points this season as they're averaging just 16 points per game (30th), 283.1 total yards per game (29th), 179.2 passing yards per game (30th), are converting only 25% of their third downs (32nd) and are scoring touchdowns on only 22.7% of their red zone trips (32nd).
Wilson has had a tough time finding a rhythm as he's completed just 59.8% of his passes (31st), thrown for only five touchdowns (30th) and has been sacked 33 times (32nd).
Buffalo's defense currently leads the NFL with 72 quarterback hits and ranks second with 33 sacks.
4. Why the Jets defense is tough to score against
The Jets are sitting at 4-5 through 10 weeks of the season. A big reason why they've been able to pick up wins without QB Aaron Rodgers is because of their defense.
"They've got a tremendously talented football team, and in particular on the defensive side," McDermott said. "They've got multiple number one picks, high picks on that defensive front, Sauce Gardner as well. And so, they're an extremely talented defense that plays fast and physical."
They're allowing an average of 19.1 points per game (7th in the NFL), 307.8 total yards per game (6th), 4.6 yards per play (3rd), 169.3 passing yards per game (3rd), a 76.2 passer rating (4th), are allowing teams to score TDs in the red zone just 44% of the time (5th) and have surrendered only nine passing touchdowns (tied for 3rd).
5. Bills looking for fourth straight win at home vs. Jets
Buffalo will square up against the Jets for the second and final time of the regular season on Sunday afternoon. Buffalo dropped their first game of the season to the Jets when they lost to them in overtime on MNF.
The Bills are hosting the Jets in Week 11 and have a solid record against the AFC East foe at home within the last couple of years. Buffalo has won the last three against the Jets at Highmark Stadium and have a chance at four straight with a win on Sunday. If the Bills secure a victory, it would be the first time Buffalo has won four straight at home against the Jets since they did it during a span from 2012-2016.
Like Buffalo, the Jets have a two-game losing streak working against them. They lost to the Chargers by 21 points in Week 9 and lost to the Raiders by 4 in Week 10. The Jets are 1-1 against the division, 2-4 against the AFC and 2-2 in away games so far this season.
