Jets-Bills Preview: Can Anyone Here Score?

I’m not sure what the point spread is for the upcoming Jets-Bills game at MetLife Stadium, but the over-under may well be in single digits. Neither team is putting many points on the board -- they’re two of only six NFL franchises averaging under 20 a game -- so recent history suggests it will likely be a low-scoring slugfest.

Of course, the fact that the Bills, at 4-3, have a better record than the 3-3 Seahwawks (among other teams) nearly halfway through the season tells you what recent history is worth.

The Bills come into Sunday’s game even more challenged on the offensive side of the ball than they’ve been to date. Their top two running backs, C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson, have been shelved with injuries, and, even worse for Buffalo’s long-suffering fans, Kyle Orton is healthy.

In his defense, Orton -- who replaced the disappointing E.J. Manuel at quarterback a few weeks back -- is doing what he’s done throughout his decade-long career: playing at a spectacularly unspectacular level but making few mistakes. On a team with a stout defense, that can be good enough to win, and the Bills appear to have just that.

Buffalo not only leads the league in sacks, with 24 through its first seven games, but has also been very tough against the run, yielding just 80 rushing yards a game and little more than three yards per attempt (which also tops the NFL). Just as Orton is much more capable as a clipboard-holding backup than a starting QB, Bills first-year defensive coordinator seems much better suited to an assistant’s role than to his previous incarnation as head coach of the Detroit Lions.

The Bills won’t make life easy for Geno Smith, who is said to be spending most of his time in Florham Park trying desperately not to get on new Jet Percy Harvin’s considerable bad side. But if offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg can find ways to get Harvin the ball in space, it may give the home team an edge it has lacked all season.

Meanwhile, after running a 12-day gauntlet featuring Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady earlier this month, the Jets defense surely welcomes the chance to face off against Orton and the Bills’ depleted running attack.

In the end, though, it will likely come down to who wants it more, and the Bills are the clear favorite in that department because of what’s at stake. Somehow finding themselves in the playoff hunt, the visitors will surely see this matchup against the 1-6 Jets as a must-win. With the postseason all but mathematically out of reach for the home team, though, matching that urgency will be a Herculean task.  

Contact Us