The New York Jets’ season couldn’t have started in a more stunning fashion. After staging yet another furious fourth quarter comeback which saw them take a two-point lead with under six minutes remaining, the Jets defense couldn’t stop the Cincinnati Bengals from marching down the field to pull off the narrow victory. Mike Nugent kicked a 47-yard field goal with 54 seconds left to give the Bengals their first win against the Jets in 10 meetings in New Jersey.
The Jets’ biggest strength – their pass defense – wasn’t quite up to snuff. Star cornerback Darrelle Revis was burned repeatedly by Cincinnati wide receiver A.J. Green in this ballgame. Green caught 10 passes for 152 yards with Revis as his primary defender. Andy Dalton had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when targeting Green with Revis covering.
It wasn’t just Revis, though, who failed to live up to expectations for the Jets on Sunday. Ryan Fitzpatrick also struggled in his season debut, completing just 19 of 35 passes for 189 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The Jets had countless opportunities to put some points on the board but their promising drives were repeatedly thwarted in the red zone by the Bengals.
It’s paramount for Fitzpatrick to take advantage of those chances against the Bills. That being said, Fitzpatrick has encountered some difficulties against the vaunted Buffalo defense in the past. He completed just 31 of 71 passes with four touchdowns and five interceptions in two meetings with the Bills last season. Fitzpatrick averaged just 187 passing yards in those two games.
The Jets are 2-4 SU and 1-3-2 ATS in their last six road games.
Betting on the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo’s 2016 NFL campaign is off to a horrible start after it suffered an embarrassing 13-7 defeat to Baltimore on Sunday. The Bills simply had no answer for the returning Joe Flacco who finished with 258 yards and a touchdown. It was a disappointing performance by the Bills who never led the entire match.
They will look to get their season back on track when they lock horns with the New York Jets this coming Thursday. For the Bills to record their first win of the season, they will need to improve on their play on the offensive end. The Bills managed to put up just 160 total yards in their loss to the Ravens. That was quite a shock considering the Bills faced a defensive unit that surrendered a whopping 401 points last year.
The onus then is on quarterback Tyrod Taylor to step up his game against the Jets. He struggled mightily on Sunday, completing just 15 of 22 passes for 111 yards with no touchdowns. Deep threat Sammy Watkins was practically invisible against the Ravens as well as he finished with just 43 yards on four catches. Establishing the pass early should help draw some of the pressure from the Bills’ running game. Buffalo racked up just 65 yards rushing in the loss to Baltimore.
Regardless of that fact, the Bills will still fancy their chances of grabbing the win this coming Thursday as they have fared extremely well against the Jets of late. The Bills have won each of their last five games against the Jets. The Bills have covered the spread in all of those five games. Buffalo completed the series sweep last year by nabbing a pair of 22-17 victories against New York. The Bills’ last victory against the Jets proved to be decisive as that eliminated New York from playoff contention.
The Bills are 4-0 in their last four home games against the Jets.
Writer’s Prediction
The Jets give the Bills all they can handle, but Taylor finds a way to get it done for a hard-earned 20-17 home win.
