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Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets: Week 9 NFL Overall Preview

By John Carroll Jr.

ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Head Coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills and Head Coach Todd Bowles of the New York Jets shake hands after the Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Jets 21-12 on September 10, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Head Coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills and Head Coach Todd Bowles of the New York Jets shake hands after the Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Jets 21-12 on September 10, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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The Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets will take their rivalry under the lights for the 3rd straight year. The teams will meet in New Jersey for a Thursday Night Football showdown.

The Buffalo Bills are set to play their 4th game away from Orchard Park and play their second divisional match up of the year.

The Occasion: Week 9, 2017 NFL Season

Where: Met Life Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Time: 8:25 p.m ET

TV: NFL Network, CBS, Amazon Prime

The Jets 

“Gang Green” is coming off a tough home loss against the Falcons, a team the Bills beat.

The Jets’ offense is far from stellar but good enough to have them at three wins, their defense is decent too.

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The difference is microscopic but the Jets technically have more yards per game then the Bills.

Bills own the advantage in rush yards per game, and the Jets do in pass yards per game.

The Jets had a three game winning streak before dropping their last three. They go into Thursday at 3-5 and last place in the division.

Top Guys 

Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy now have another big name on offense with them.

At the deadline, the Bills traded for wide out Kelvin Benjamin. Although his playing time for Thursday will be decided by the offensive coaching staff, it was still a huge splash to make right before the Bills play on national television.

The last few games Tyrod Taylor has slowly changed his style of play. He has more recently spent more time in the pocket looking to make downfield throws.

He is still very protective of the ball and rarely tests the coverage, but he is becoming more throw happy as opposed to run happy like in previous seasons.

The Jets’ defense is solid but can they do what the Bucs and Raiders were unable to do? Stop Tyrod from playing mistake free football.

The Process 

Expect Bills Twitter and fans to be blown up about “The Process.” The team has made a plethora of trades which is very unusual compared to the last regimes.

Bills fans do not exactly know what this “process” consists of, but they are slowly learning to live by it.

If the Bills come out and smoke the Jets again. There will be a lot of buzz around “The Process”

The Short Rest 

The short rest week is always a burden on the players. It is rather annoying as a fan too.

Both teams have the advantage of coming off a home game. The Bills and Jets do play in different states. But it is the same exact time zone and the  relatively short travel is not a huge burden on the Bills players.

The only advantage about the short rest is the Jets are the home team, which is a normal advantage.

Both teams will only be a little rusty, if at all.

The Bills’ injury report looks loaded this week but the short week is the reason for that. There is no reason to fear for most of the Bills players on it will be ready by game time.

First Place? 

If the Bills win this game they will go to 6-2. The AFC East leading New England Patriots have a bye this week so with a win the Bills will match their record and take the advantage in division record.

So, yes, if the Bills win they will be in first in the division with just eight games left to play.

Notes 

The Bills had a strangle hold vs New York in week 1 and took that one 21-12.

Buffalo leads the all-time series 61- 53. New York won the last match up in Met Life on New Years Day this year (part of 2016 season).

The Jets are going with an all-green uniform combination and the Bills will be rocking their white on white alternates.

For Sure 

The Bills and Jets will be fired up for a big game feel under the lights, on a national stage.

Bold Prediction 

The game will come down to a late field goal attempt, within the last minute of the 4th quarter.

Next: Bills make big pre-deadline trade

Final Thoughts 

This is quietly a tough game for the Bills. The Jets have been playing tough and keeping games really close. This is by no means a walk-through game for the Bills.

As always, please follow me on Twitter for all things Buffalo Bills throughout the year.

Next game, the Bills return home to host the surging Saints for their final non-conference matchup on November 12th.

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