Tonight, the Buffalo Bills travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Jets in what will be an early preview of the AFC East front runners matching up against each other. This matchup will surely provide the fireworks expected from an inter-divisional game, with both teams needing to quickly right the ship after a skid, particularly the Jets, after recently firing former head coach Robert Saleh earlier in the week.
The matchup will be one to watch in various areas across the field, but in particular, there are three Jets players who might not be household names but should strike worry into Bills fans' minds headed into this matchup, two of which are on the offensive side of the ball that are not named Aaron Rodgers.
1: RB Breece Hall
Jets star running back Breece Hall is coming off of some fairly underwhelming showings, only putting up four yards on ten carries in the loss against the Denver Broncos and nine carries for twenty-three yards against the Minnesota Vikings in London.
However, something to keep in mind is that the Bills run defense has been, for lack of a better word, bad. Without starting nickel cornerback Taron Johnson and an extended absence of linebacker Terrel Bernard, the Bills have allowed opposing running backs and mobile quarterbacks to run all over them. Breece Hall is set for a bounce back game against the Bills, however, this could very well shift pending the release of the active and inactive players list closer to game time.
2: RB Braelon Allen
Two of the Jets running backs on this list? Correct. It was reported earlier today that Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich has promoted Todd Downing to play-calling duties, and it was suggested that Downing will lean on the Jets rushing attack, meaning both Hall and second-string running back Braelon Allen should see a fairly high snap count against a Bills defense that ranks 32nd in yards yielded per rush (5.22).
Just like Hall, however, the impact that Braelon Allen could potentially have on the game is limited significantly should Taron Johnson return to the field, giving the Bills defense a shot in the arm. Stopping both Hall and Allen will come down to an improved, if not entirely new, gameplan by Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich, considering just how strong the Jets running game is and how depleted the Bills backfield is (as of now).
3: RCB DJ Reed
Cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner isn't the only notable name on a Jets defense loaded with playmakers. While Sauce garners a lot of the attention, starting right cornerback DJ Reed is not a player to overlook when game planning against the Jets.
Reed might not have as many flashy numbers as most cornerbacks, but he rates highly in terms of tackles and assisted tackles among the Jets defense. Reed is excellent at staying with his assignment, producing highlight reel worthy plays when targeted by quarterbacks looking to avoid targeting Sauce on deeper routes.
Keeping the ball on the ground can help mitigate the impact that both Gardner and Reed can have on the Bills passing game. However, with a toe injury to star running back James Cook, that might not be an ideal option, meaning the Bills will have to target at least one of them throughout the course of the game on deeper routes.