The New York Jets, fresh off of their bye week, head to Orchard Park to take on the Buffalo Bills. The Jets actually had a very productive bye week, as the Titans, Dolphins, and Chargers (the Jets competition for the AFC’s 6th seed) all lost. Now, the Jets look to start their first winning streak since beating the Cardinals and the Jaguars last season. Let’s get to know the New York Jets’s next opponent.
Week 11: Buffalo Bills, 3-7 last week: loss @ Pittsburgh, 23-10
2013 Offensive Rankings: 24th in Points Per game (19.9 ppg), 16th in total yards (332.9 per game), 29th in passing yards (192.2 per game), 21st in passing attempts (35.1 per game), 26th in passing touchdowns (10), 18th in interceptions thrown (9), 31st in yards gained per attempt (5.0), 7th in rushing yards (140.7 per game), 3rd in rushing attempts (32.5 per game), 14th in rushing touchdowns (8), 12th in yards per carry (4.3), 37 of their 133 drives have ended with a score (27.8%), 17 of their 133 drives have ended in a turnover (12.8%), average 5.4 plays, 25.7 yards and two minutes and 5 seconds per drive.
Overview: The Bills were thoroughly manhandled last week by the Pittsburgh Steelers. EJ Manuel was sacked three times by the Steelers front seven and was in duress the entire afternoon. The Bills offensive line has now given up sixteen sacks on Manuel (eight in the Jets Week Thee victory). After last week’s loss, EJ is now 2-4 as a starter this year and has completed 55% of his passes for 1140 yards, 6 TDs, and 4 INTs. He averaged four yards per completion last week against Pittsburgh, which is two yards fewer than his season average of six. Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller have 239 of the team’s 325 carries and have amassed 1058 yards and an average of 4.4 yards per carry. However, both RBs struggled last week as the totaled just 78 yards on 20 carries.
The Bills leading pass catcher is Stevie Johnson, Kyle Wilson’s nemesis. Johnson has 41 catches for 471 yards and three TDs. Las week he hauled in three catches for 48 yards. Johnson was targeted ten times last week but may miss the Jets game due to a groin injury. Tight End Scott Chandler is second on the team in receptions with 35 catches for 388 yards. Spiller and Jackson are keys to the passing game as well. They have combined for a total of 50 receptions and 450 yards this year.
Key Injuries
WR Robert Woods (Out), 26 receptions for 349 yards and 2 TDs
WR Stevie Johnson (Doubtful)
2013 Defensive Rankings: 24th in points allowed (25.9 per game), 19th in yards allowed (355.9 per game), 17th in passing defense (238.6 per game), 29th in passing touchdowns allowed (21), 22nd in rushing defense (117.3 per game), 13th in yards per carry allowed (4.3), 4th in rushing touchdowns allowed (3), and 17th in turnovers forced (16).
Overview: The Bills defense allowed 300 total yards last week against the Steelers and 4.5 yards per play. The defense did sack Roethlisberger four times last week, with two coming from Jerry Hughes. That gave the strongside linebacker six sacks on the season, good for second on the team. The cornerstone of the Bills defense and sack leader is former first round pick Mario Williams. Williams has a total of eleven sacks but had zero sacks against the Jets in Week Three. The team’s leading tackler is Defensive Rookie of The Year candidate Kiko Alonso. The young stud has 52 tackles, four INTs, four passes defended, and a fumble recovery so far. He’s coming off a ten tackle game last week. Alonso’s four INTs lead the team. Former New York Jet, Jim Leonhard, is tied with Aaron Williams for second on the team with three each. The Bills have a combined thirteen INTs. Former first round pick Marcelle Dareus and the underrated Kyle Williams both have 5 sacks and have done a very good job on the Bills defensive line. Former Pro Bowler Jarius Byrd is healthy for this matchup against the Jets. He has sixteen tackles, three passes defended and an INT in the four games he’s been back. Former first round pick Stephen Gilmore is also healthy but was torched by Antonio Brown last week for 104 yards.
Key Injuries
DT Kyle Williams (Questionable)
Special Teams
Dan Carpenter is 19-21 so far on the year, with his two misses coming from 40 and 50 yards. Brian Moorman has replaced Shawn Powell and the Bills special teams has suffered. Moorman is averaging 42.2 yards per punt, where as Powell was averaging 46.6 yards per punt. The Bills have alternated primary kick returners and are averaging 205 yards per return as a team. Leodis McKelvin and Jim Leonhard handle the punt return duties, and are averaging seven and nine yards a return respectively. The Bills do not have a special teams TD yet this season.
Series History
The Bills lead the season series 55-51. Rex is 7-2 against the Bills as the Jets head coach. The Jets won the last matchup, 27-20, in Week 3. The Jets haven’t swept a season series with the Bills since the 2011 season.
Series Highlight
