The Buffalo Bills have another game coming up this Sunday as they face the New York Jets in a crucial AFC East showdown at MetLife Stadium. The Bills cannot overlook this Jets team, as they have a competent offense led by quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
The Bills' defense will be tested this week after facing weaker teams in their last two games. The team also introduced a new safety, Amani Hooker, who will be playing this week.
Let's take a look at three vital matchups the Bills will face heading into this Week's 10 showdown.
3 battles Bills must win over AFC East rival Jets
1.) Breece Hall and Braelon Allen vs. Bills' run-defense
The Bills are 7th in the league when stopping the run, and they have done so very consistently. They've only allowed 91.6 rushing yards a game and 3.9 yards per carry. More importantly, they've yet to permit a 100-yard rusher during their first eight games of the season.
The team's run defense will once again have to be stout while facing both running backs, Braelon Allen and Breece Hall.
Allen has taken advantage of being the Jets' new bell cow after Hall was injured mid-season. Allen has 598 rushing yards on 120 carries and looks on track for his first 1,000-yard rushing season after Hall accomplished that last season. The Bills will have to keep playing in the box and mix in blitzes to stop him from becoming the first 100-yard rusher this run defense has allowed.
As for Hall, he has been dealing an injury that has given Allen more carries the last few weeks. He's tallied a modest 224 rushing yards on 66 carries and wants to prove he still has gas left in the tank after signing a 3-year, 43.5 million extension last season. However, he still can do some damage against Buffalo.
2.) Will McDonald vs. Bills' offensive line
Will McDonald has been a durable starter as the Jets' EDGE rusher, missing no more than two games in each of his first three seasons. This year, he has three sacks in nine games played and can be a game-changer in a hurry. However, he will be facing a stout Bills offensive line that hasn't given up an inch in the pass game.
The Bills have allowed the fifth fewest sacks in the league, with 17. That's thanks to their bookend tackles, Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, and even backup swing tackle Tylan Grable starting at both the left and right tackle positions.
If the Bills want to replicate their performance against the blitz vs. Minnesota last Monday night, then it starts with this O-line setting up the physical running game for running back James Cook, who is fifth in the league with 814 rushing yards.
3.) Garrett Wilson vs. Bills secondary
Despite the Jets' recent struggles, the one constant has been the continued rise of star wide receiver Garrett Wilson. The 2022 offensive rookie of the year has tallied 1,000 receiving yards every year since he's been in the league, and this year he is on pace for a career-high 1,280 receiving yards.
The Bills' secondary, led by Davison Igbinosun, has shown that he and the other players are starting to cover some of the better wide receivers perfectly against man and press coverage. Igbinosun recorded an interception against the Baltimore Ravens while also holding receiver Zay Flowers to no catches. Then, against the Minnesota Vikings, Igbinosun was great again.
This week, Igbinosun and his defense will really have to be on top of their game when Wilson lines up across from them.
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