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

Unleash Tyrod Taylor

Tyrod Taylor didn’t look good this preseason. Plain and simple.

Now he’s healthy and over a concussion, word out of One Bills Drive is that the Bills have something special in store this week.

Taylor struggled to find a groove all preseason long, but according to Bills quarterbacks coach David Culley, that’s all about to change. He told reporters earlier this week that the Bills can’t wait to “unleash” Taylor, according to newyorkupstate.com.

"“He can’t wait to unleash it,” Culley said. “And let me tell you this, we can’t wait to unleash him. We’re excited about Sunday with him. He can’t wait. Again, talking about the preseason and maybe his struggles, we never saw it like that. We saw him as he’s trying to get better at things. He’s still learning a different offense. He’s still learning how to be more comfortable in the pocket, and he did all that stuff. So we’re comfortable with the fact that he’s going through the process. Now, I would have liked for him to have not had a concussion against Baltimore and played into the third quarter, but that didn’t happen. It is what it is.”"

While his defense has always been Jets head coach Todd Bowles’ calling card, there are some new faces in the secondary this season.

Jamal Adams and Morris Claiborne are studs for sure, but there are some holes in the secondary. Free safety Marcus Maye is a second-round pick and had a good training camp, but he’s still a rookie. Right cornerback Juston Burris is unproven, with just one start heading into his second year, and slot corner Buster Skrine is a liability at times.

Taylor had success working the middle of the field with Charles Clay during the preseason, and that could continue Sunday. Jordan Matthews, coming out of the slot, could be in line for a big game too.

And expect Taylor to run this season again, which was something the Bills stayed away from in the preseason, according to Culley.

"“Defenses don’t want him to use his feet,” Culley said. “He hasn’t used it a whole lot during the preseason. That’s been intentional. Now, you’ll just see him be what he naturally does. We hope that’s what he continues to do. Now, have we seen that in the preseason? No. He’s only had like 56 plays. There’s not a whole lot on him to see is he any different than he was before? People are thinking he’s going to use his feet whenever he feels like he needs to go instead of using his arm. Well, he’s worked tremendously during this time to be able to do that. I expect that he’ll be himself. Hopefully those things we tried to teach him he applies and carries us on and makes us better.”"

If you’re a fantasy player, Taylor could be a great day in daily formats with a Clay stack. He’s also a good fill-in for the injured Andrew Luck.