Back in Week 6, there were a lot of unknowns. The Bills were coming off of two consecutive losses to the Ravens and the Texans, and the Jets had just fired their head coach.
Both teams needed to make a statement to the league and to set themselves up for the rest of the season. Little did they know that each would be going down entirely different paths.
Entering Week 6, the Jets were 2-3 and the Bills were 3-2—with either being a win or a loss away from being .500, respectively. Fortunately, Buffalo pulled off with a win on a game-ending interception by cornerback Taron Johnson.
Since then, the Bills have won nine of their last ten games and the Jets have lost eight of their last ten. Just think about it: this game versus the Jets was likely scheduled late in anticipation that New York would be vying for a division title. Instead, the Bills with a win would clinch the second seed.
If that is the case, they will likely use Week 18 as a pseudo-bye week. I anticipate that the starters will play one drive each on offense and defense at that point, but Week 17 may be their last full-game action until the Wild Card game.
The defense has been pretty banged up for most of the season, particularly in the past few weeks. Safeties Damar Hamlin, Taylor Rapp, and Cam Lewis are listed as questionable for Week 17 against the Jets, as is wide receiver Curtis Samuel
(Update: Taylor Rapp and Cam Lewis are going to play, while Damar Hamlin and Curtis Samuel are inactive).
After missing last week’s game, linebacker Matt Milano and cornerback Rasul Douglas will be making their way back into the lineup.
According to head coach Sean McDermott, they are “good to go.”
Matchups to Watch Out For
Bills’ Wide Receivers vs Jets’ Secondary
It was a less-than ideal day for the Bills’ wide receiver corps against the Patriots. They mustered a measly 74 receiving yards on 13 targets and zero touchdowns.
Granted, quarterback Josh Allen came out and admitted that they were holding back on offense with their play calling, but it was disappointing nonetheless.
Unfortunately they may not get a break this week, as the New York Jets’ defense gives up the seventh-fewest receiving yards per game to wide receivers with 134.2 yards. If the play calling is as vanilla as it was last week, we may see the same struggles.
Predictions
Can Josh Allen lock up the MVP?
The MVP race is getting dangerously close. QBs Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow are making strong cases for themselves, as is running back Saquon Barkley, but Josh Allen remains the betting favorite across multiple sports books.
This may be Allen’s last chance to cement this honor as his own to win. However, he has stated that winning MVP is not his main focus.
“The only good takeaway [is] that I feel like [it] means your team’s in a position to make the playoffs and give yourselves the chance to win the Super Bowl,” Allen said to ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg prior to the Lions’ game. “That’s really all I care about.”
I don’t expect him to go all out versus the Jets. Add in the fact that the weather is supposed to be an issue, it may be in his best interest to play to win, not to pad his stats for a regular season award.
Conclusion
This will be the last game that the Bills will play at home—but in the regular season! Last year we couldn’t say the same, because the division wasn’t clinched until Week 18.
Consider yourself, as a Bills’ fan, to be fortunate that we have the luxury to waltz into the playoffs in the final weeks of the season. That has not been the case in the past few years.
However, there are still seeding implications that depend on the results of this week’s game. The Bills can clinch the second seed with a win, and then hopefully they can get their long-awaited bye before the real games begin.
Featured Image Credit: Bills Wire
