Running Games Will Speed Up Clock In This One

Bills vs. Jets, 8:15 ET

Bills vs. Jets, 8:15 ET

When the NFL scheduled this it looked like this could be a battle of two teams that would be almost unbeaten or at least top of their division. It hasn’t quite been smooth sailing for either of them. After this game, they both could be 3-3 for the season, or the Bills could boost their lead while having the Jets buried further in the division. This should still be a good game as the Bills head into New York to face the Jets – this was the same matchup last year to open the season that changed the trajectory of their season. Will it happen again? 

The Bills are 3-2, having lost two straight games and could be staring at a .500 record if they aren’t careful in this one. After they annihilated the Jaguars in Week 3, they were embarrassed by the Ravens and then lost a close one to the Texans last week. They started the season by scoring at least 30 points in all three games, and their offense looked unstoppable. In their past two games, they’ve scored a total of 30 points. It isn’t just the offense that is struggling lately. In the first three games, the defense allowed 48 points total. They’ve allowed 48 points in the past two games. Perhaps it was just a schedule thing where the Bills were able to ease into the season, and this is who they truly are. Or, maybe they need to make some adjustments. Whatever the case may be, tonight is an opportunity for them to get back on track. The Jets have the best passing defense in football right now, so the Bills will need to rely on the ground game here, which is actually fine because their running game has been better than in past years. On the ground, the Jets are pretty much middle-of-the-pack with their run defense. 

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – OCTOBER 16: Breece Hall #20 of the New York Jets runs for yards during a game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on October 16, 2022 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The Jets defeated the Packers 27-10. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

It took us just five weeks to get the first casualty of the NFL coaching tree as the Jets took their coach out of his misery after a 2-3 start. In fairness, he shouldn’t be held completely accountable for the terrible play of the Jets offense. The defense still looked pretty good, but the offense looks terrible. Aaron Rodgers, the starting quarterback, a 40+year old coming off of a serious injury not leading an efficient offense… who would’ve guessed? The problem isn’t just that, the Jets don’t have a good running game either. They are throwing the ball almost two times more often than they are running the ball. Breece Hall, their primary running back has attempted 65 carries and is averaging just three yards per carry with two touchdowns. Luckily for the Jets, the running game has a good chance to get back on track tonight as they face a Bills team that has allowed 144 yards per game to opponents. On the other side of things, the pass defense from Buffalo is pretty dominant. For the season, the Jets started by getting blown out by the 49ers. They beat the Titans, but it wasn’t exactly a convincing victory. They did look pretty good against a bad Patriots team in Week 3. A missed field goal cost them a win against the Broncos, but in reality the team played very poorly on offense. Last week in London they were the latest casualty to be steamrolled by the train that is the Vikings. Will the coaching change make enough of an impact this week? 

Both teams would benefit from running the ball in this which means a running clock for a lot of the game. There is potential for both of them to play well enough with the passing game, but this should be a slower, tightly contested game. Last night’s game was boring between the Bengals and Giants, this one should be fairly similar. Back under 41.5 in this one. 

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