After competing on Thursday Night Football in Week 2, the Buffalo Bills got the chance to watch two of their division rivals go at it this past Thursday night. The New England Patriots traveled to MetLife to take on Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. In a battle between two 1-1 teams, this just felt like the perfect Thursday night matchup.
However, it turned out to be sort of a repeat from the Thursday night matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins. While the Bills went into Miami and completely smashed the Dolphins, the Jets sent the Patriots back to Boston with a big time loss, beating them 24-3.
The Patriots usually have a steller defense that can disguise themselves to throw an offense off of their comfort level. That was not the case this time. New England usually finds a way to beat the Jets year-in and year-out, but the Jets turned that narrative around in this matchup. Even though the Jets defense completely dominated the New England offense (getting seven sacks in this game), Aaron Rodgers and the Jets offense shined against this tough defense.
Rodgers had his best game as a Jet, completing 77% of his throws for 281 yards and 2 touchdowns. Putting up these numbers against New England is not east but he made it look like a walk in the park.
Thursday Night Football proved that Aaron Rodgers is the biggest threat to Josh Allen in the AFC East
The Jets are built to beat a team like the Bills. They have done a solid job at making life difficult for the Bills. While Buffalo has been able to shutdown the Dolphins, they can never have an easy game against the Jets. On paper, this Jets team is talented enough to win the AFC East and if they can avoid any major injuries, it is very possible that Rodgers, not Allen, will lead his team to a division title.
The good news is that it is just one football game, and the Patriots were not expected to do much this season. It’s still a long season and the Bills have shown that they can make a comeback as well as dominate from start to finish. However, the Jets might be the team that will actually challenge the Bills for the AFC East in 2024.