New York Jets: What you need to know for Buffalo 9/8
By Ed Stein
Last year
There are plenty of similarities between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in 2018. Both teams had rookie quarterbacks and both teams struggled on offense. Buffalo had 4478 total yards, while NYJ put up 4787. Those were 30th and 29th in the NFL, respectively. Additionally, the teams scored almost the same amount of offensive touchdowns: Jets – 29, Bills – 28. NYJ was better through the air while Buffalo had a better run game.
Speaking of the running the ball, Gang Green’s leading rusher, Isaiah Crowell only had 685 yards before going to the IR in mid-December. Because they couldn’t advance the ball on the ground very well, the Jets were forced to pass more than they would have liked. Opposing defenses could back off a little in the secondary and concentrate on defending against the pass.
What made Buffalo two games better than the Jets was their defense. Frankly Gang Green couldn’t stop anyone. They finished 26th in the league versus the rush and 24th against the pass in yards allowed. Their D gave up an average of 5.7 yards per play (21st) and allowed a whopping 45 touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Buffalo had one of the stingier defenses in 2018. Highlights included giving up the third-fewest yards per play and finished the year eighth in both passing touchdowns allowed and takeaways. Their undoing was stopping the run, an area where the team fell below mid-pack.