With the Buffalo Bills on a short week after a spectacular win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, the team will next make their way to the Meadowlands to take on the 2-7 New York Jets. The Jets lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on the road this past Sunday and are looking to bounce back.
This Sunday's game will be especially important, as it is a divisional matchup both teams would like to win. With the Jets losing four straight games, let's take a look at how the Bills can continue to exploit their weakness, move to 8-1, and remain first in the division.
4 ways Bills must stop Jets to win Sunday afternoon
1. Capitalize on red-zone inadequacies
The Jets are statistically the worst team in the NFL at converting inside the Red Zone at 40.7%, while the Bills offense is statistically better with a red-zone conversion rate of 66.7% and an average of 3.6 touchdowns a game.
The Bills plan to capitalize in the red zone by having Josh Allen release the ball quickly with short, high-percentage passes to set up automatic touchdowns. They will also need to create end-zone mismatches with deep passes to either Khalil Shakir or Keon Coleman, using trick routes to stretch coverage.
2. Expose Jets' secondary
The Jets have a questionable secondary because of their inept pass defense, which gives up 197.8 yards per game and has also given up big passing plays for long gains. In this game, the Bills should add to the deep passing game, using Allen's strong arm to attack the secondary vertically and expose holes in their coverage.
The team should also vary their route selections to confuse the secondary and exploit who is or isn't covering the Bills' excellent receiving core led by DJ Moore. While Aaron Glenn hasn't been known in the past for blitzing, he has to be now, thanks to the influence of Brian Flores' scheme in every era of the NFL.
The Bills should attack on offense when the Jets do blitz by running the ball hard and playing for time of possession, as they did to defeat the Vikings.
3. Put pressure on sustaining drives
The Jets still struggle to keep drives alive, which is why they were beaten by the Chiefs in the second half last week, 35-12. The Bills must increase their blitzing and move their defensive linemen around to confuse Geno Smith.
The Bills should also irritate their offensive line by forcing multiple false-start penalties and stacking the box to stop their capable run game.
4. Stop the run game
The Jets' run defense is among the worst in the NFL, permitting 128.0 rushing yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry. The Bills must be able to use a downhill, between-the-tackles run game to shorten the game and set up Allen's arm.
They should also focus on the Jets' defensive line, which has been overpowered recently. The Bills can look to dominate their line of scrimmage. The team can run short, highly effective plays to keep moving the ball downfield, protecting Allen from having to run and risking his own health.
The Bills must take this game seriously and avoid a letdown game. But the hungry Jets will play tough. Make no mistake about it.
Add us as a preferred source on Google