A pair of desperate teams will hook up at MetLife Stadium Sunday, as the reeling New York Jets (5–5) host the free-falling Buffalo Bills (5–5).
The disappointing Jets have lost two games in a row, after seemingly righting their ship with three straight wins—the third of which was a 27–11 win in Buffalo. That same game for the Bills was the start of a three-game losing streak, in which Buffalo has been outscored by an average of 35–9 to drop into a second-place tie.
To make matters worse, the Bills will be without starting running back Fred Jackson for the rest of the season. Jackson not only leads the team in rushing (and is second in receiving), but was third in the NFL with his 934 yards on the ground.
In his place Buffalo will turn to second-year phenom C.J. Spiller. The former first-round pick out of Clemson has shown glimpses of greatness in his limited time—he has just 21 carries on the year—but has yet to shoulder the load.
According to the Jets’ website, Head Coach Rex Ryan said of Spiller: “With that kind of speed that he has, he does a lot of things out of the backfield where he can—he plays receiver, he is a home-run hitter. … I think Spiller is, like I say, he’s a very dangerous guy.”
Ryan, of course, has his own team to worry about.
High expectations were placed on his Jets—albeit mostly from his own mouth—that clearly haven’t been met. As in most cases, the blame usually falls on the coach and his quarterback. While quarterback Mark Sanchez hasn’t performed horribly this season—his 79.9 QB rating is the 19th best in the league—Ryan has actually given some practice snaps to 41-year-old backup Mark Brunell this week.
Ryan said of Sanchez' reaction, “I think he was a little hot under the collar initially.”
The same tactic was used last year by Ryan to light a fire under his young signal-caller—or was at least attempted. In an interview with GQ magazine this summer, Sanchez said how he “wanted to fight him [Ryan],” after the coach tried to give some reps to Brunell in practice following losses to New England and Miami. Brunell held his ground, and the Jets turned things around before falling in the AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh.
Though this week’s game isn’t a playoff game, the Jets may be eliminated with another loss. Given the Bills’ slide of late, however, that scenario seems unlikely—so long as Sanchez and Ryan don’t get into a fight.
