Jets know they'll get Josh Allen's best in rematch with Bills
Bryce Huff #47 of the New York Jets strips the ball from Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills late in the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Josh Allen’s worst performance of the season came against the Jets last month. Getting Allen off his game again will be the mission for the Jets’ physical, tough defense in Sunday’s rematch in Buffalo.
The Jets (7-5), currently in the seventh spot in the AFC playoff race, would boost their chances of reaching the postseason in a big way with a win Sunday. They haven’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season.
This is the toughest of the Jets’ remaining five games (they host Detroit and Jacksonville the next two weeks before finishing on the road at Seattle and Miami). Last week’s 27-22 loss at Minnesota was the Jets’ biggest December game in seven years. Now it’s Sunday’s game at Buffalo.
The Bills (9-3) are the conference’s top seed and one of the NFL’s most complete teams. Containing Allen for a second time would give the Jets the best hope for sweeping the season series.
“He probably has a good chance of winning the MVP,” defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers said. “But it’s hard if you’re hitting somebody over and over, putting pressure on somebody over and over. It’s hard. He does a good job with his legs. He runs the ball well. When you get a chance, you got to hit him. You got to punish him when you get that opportunity.”
That worked in the Jets’ 20-17 win on Nov. 6 at MetLife Stadium. Allen was sacked a season-high five times and hit eight times. He threw two interceptions and didn’t have a passing touchdown for the only time this season. He ran for two scores, but his passer rating was a season-low 46.8.
After the game, Allen said, “It’s tough to win when your quarterback plays like [expletive].”
Robert Saleh said it’s “really hard to duplicate” that type of performance against Allen, who is tied for second in the NFL with 25 touchdown passes and third in passing yards (3.406). The Jets are expecting a much different Allen this time, but their approach won’t change.
“Historically as the year goes on, especially down the stretch, he’s a guy who absolutely wants to put the team on his back,” Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “I could definitely see him running more. I could definitely see him scrambling more. I could definitely see more quarterback designed runs, and just giving him an opportunity to put it on him more. And obviously, there’s going to be an element of payback that all players feel, and all coaches feel whenever you lose, and it doesn’t matter how you lose, it’s just you want to get them next time. So we’ll get the very best version of the Bills. I’m convinced of that.”
Ulbrich added that when Allen is a runner, he’s not going to slide or give himself up much. “So you got to tackle him, you got to hit him, which we plan to do,” he said.
The Jets showed a pretty good version of their defense the last time these teams met. They held the Bills to a season low in points, total yards (317) and passing yards (183). Since then, Buffalo is 3-1 and averaging 28.3 points, 399.8 total yards and 239.3 passing yards. In the Bills’ last three games — all wins — Allen has thrown five touchdown passes and one interception. They’re also coming in on 10 days’ rest.
“We got to go out there and handle our job as a defense,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “If we go out there, execute, communicate, run and hit and make plays, it might be another bad game, it might not. We have a job to do, and that’s make sure we keep them out of the red zone and do a great job in the run game.”
Both teams will look a little different this time, though. Zach Wilson was the Jets’ quarterback then. It’s Mike White’s show now, and the offense has improved. White has thrown for 684 yards in two starts, with rookie Garrett Wilson his top target. Wilson has caught 13 passes for 257 yards and two TDs.
The Bills’ defense is much healthier this game. Former Pro Bowl cornerback Tre’Davious White and Pro Bowl safety Jordan Poyer were sidelined in the last meeting and the Bills have added cornerback Xavier Rhodes since then.
“They’re fully healthy,” Saleh said. “It’s going to be a dogfight.”
The Jets will have to bounce back from what White called a “heartbreaking” loss in Minnesota, one in which they failed to score a touchdown on five of six red-zone opportunities in the second half. If the Jets have similar struggles in Buffalo, they could have their first losing streak of the season.
“It’s another opportunity to go out there and play our brand of football and do what we’re supposed to do,” Franklin-Myers said. “If we play our brand of football and do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll like the outcome.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
