The New York Jets opened the Aaron Glenn era with a heartbreaking loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Leading most of the game, the Jets succumbed to some bad luck on a deflected pass and a 60 yard field with a little more than a minute to play. Justin Fields and the Jets offense played extremely well, while the Jets defense, especially the Jets secondary, disappointed. The Jets offensive line held up well against a stout Steelers defense and Breece Hall had one of his better performances
in recent memory. Nonetheless, despite many encouraging developments on offense, the Jets fell short. The loss gave the Jets an 0-1 record to start the season.
Now the Jets face an early season showdown at home against the AFC East defending champions, the Buffalo Bills. A victory over the Bills would vault the Jets into first place in the division very early in the season. A loss would drop the Jets to the dreaded 0-2 start, both losses coming at home. Few teams recover to make the playoffs from such a start.
This shapes up as a stern early season test of the Jets’ progress. Nearly pulling off a mild upset over a middling Pittsburgh Steelers team is one thing. Actually pulling off a win against the Buffalo Bills, one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl this season, is another thing entirely. Getting back to playing in the post-season is vital for this struggling franchise. It may not happen this year, but a surprise early season victory over the mighty Bills would go a long way towards changing the narrative.
The Jets have had some recent success containing the Bills’ and their star quarterback Josh Allen at home. Last year the Jets lost to the Bills by just three points at home, while the Jets beat the Bills in East Rutherford in both 2023 and 2022. There is some basis for optimism for the Jets going into this challenging matchup. However, Josh Allen is coming off an epic opening week performance against the Baltimore Ravens, in which he led the Bills from a late double digit deficit to an improbable one point victory in the final seconds of the game. Allen put up an astounding 251 passing yards in the fourth quarter of that game, a performance for the ages. Even with the Jets at home, containing Allen and the Buffalo Bills will be an enormous challenge.
Let’s take a look at the current odds for this game according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The current line has the Jets home underdogs by 7 points. The game has an over/under of 45.5 points. On the moneyline the Jets are +265 while the Bills are -330.
Despite the bitter defeat on Sunday, the Jets still can move into first place in the AFC East with a win against the Bills. On the other hand, a second straight home loss would plunge the Jets into the dreaded 0-2 hole from which few teams recover to make the playoffs. If the Jets want to contend for a post-season berth, this week would be a very good time to play a complete game and pull off an upset. It won’t be easy. The Bills are an excellent team. They have dominated the division for years. We’ll soon see if the Jets are up to the task of bouncing back from a tough loss and wresting first place in the division from their upstate rivals.
