Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets: Three Keys to the Game

Prediction: Bills 24, Jets 20

The Bills have a tough task ahead of them Thursday.

Luckily, they are playing in the homey confines of New Era Field and a crowd that is witnessing its first home primetime game in four years. Oh, and it’s also the home opener and the Bills are finally retiring Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith’s jersey.

"“If you played this game at a certain level, you would want to be recognized as being one of the best, which is being in Pro Football’s Hall of Fame,” Smith said, via BuffaloBills.com. “And then, the ultimate–never having your jersey worn again by another player. That leaves you speechless.”"

If the defense can match the level of production from Sunday, it should find similar success against the Jets. While the Jets’ playmakers are significantly better, Joe Flacco is an upgrade over Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Not to mention, the Bills have had success against Fitzpatrick during his tenure with the Jets.

"“Our secondary doing a great job of disguising converges, making him really hold onto the ball, and then us up front really doing our job of creating havoc,” Buffalo Bills hybrid Jerry Hughes said, via Buffalo News. “I think that’s a great recipe we have of our back seven doing a tremendous job playing coverage.”"

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If the Bills can get their running game going, Tyrod Taylor will have more time to exploit the Jets secondary, similar to how he did last season.

But, at the end of the day, this game might come down to the final possession, and Taylor will either need to show off his clutch gene or Rex Ryan and Co. will need to formulate a plan to foil the Jets offense on final drive.