AFC Game Of The Week 

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets 

Bills: They’ve been the best team in the state of New York for the last three seasons and they have also been the best team in their division since 2020. Three consecutive division titles, some playoff appearances and they also made a trip to the AFC Championship Game. All of that is good and all, but when will they win the entire thing? They’re strong enough to do so as they have a top-three Quarterback who ignites that offense when healthy in Josh Allen, an elite Wide Receiver in Stefon Diggs along with a defense that can play punishing when healthy which leads me to my next point. The Bills signed Von Miller last season to put them over the top and his impact was felt right away. Then, he gets hurt and is lost for the season. I always say that if he didn’t go down, they would beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs in January. By the end of the last season, Buffalo was emotionally gassed out and as expected, I don’t think they were ever to fully focus on football after everything that happened with Damar Hamlin, and you can’t blame them. I wouldn’t know how to operate or move forward, especially knowing my teammate almost lost his life on the field. I find myself saying this a lot when it comes to the Bills. Josh can’t continue to bail them out and carry them. They need balance and when that happens, this will be a scarier team. He can’t do everything and I always find myself repeating this. They kick off their season on Monday night in East Rutherford.

Jets: Watching them as much as I did in 2022, I was often reminded of the Rex Ryan groups in the early 2010s. The running game was strong, the Offensive Line was tough upfront, and the defense got back to that physical style of football. Sauce Gardner had an immediate impact on this defense and even Darrelle Revis said because of the young Cornerback, the Jets have an identity once again in which I agree with. With all I just listed, everything has been set up but they have been inconsistent at the most important position, Quarterback. They’ve filled that void by acquiring a future Hall of Famer, Aaron Rodgers. We all knew the trade would happen. It was just a manner of when it would happen. This move makes the AFC more stacked with Quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Trevor Lawrence. Look at all that firepower! Aaron immediately makes them a playoff team. I won’t necessarily label them as a division winner, but they can make the playoffs as a Wild Card team. He will have a strong running game to lean on, a nice group of receivers in Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman and his buddy, Randall Cobb. Isn’t it amazing how one guy can come in and make all the difference? The buzz surrounding them is alive and everyone is talking about them. This Monday night, the Jets will welcome the reigning AFC East champions to town.

Bills X-Factor: Dawson Knox– It’s a Hard Knox Life, for us! I understand bigger names are playing the Tight End position, but he deserves to be mentioned. He serves as that safety valve for the Quarterback. Josh knows how to find him in crucial situations and with the ball in his hands, Dawson is fluid in space. The Bills use him wide to create the best possible mismatch. In the Spring, the Bills drafted Dalton Kincaid, a Tight End from Utah. Look for them to use heavy two Tight End sets.

Jets X-Factor: Breece Hall– He’s the key for this Jets offense. Look at how strong he was before his injury and look how the offense struggled without him. I followed Breece during his college days at Iowa State and I said then he’d be a good pro. I truly hope he can stay healthy this year, because his ceiling is very high. As I said up top, he was the Jets offense and when he went down, the entire offense went down with him.

Three Things I’m Watching

1. The Bills Balance: I said it up top and I will say it here again. Stop putting everything on the shoulders of Josh Allen! When the Bills are down, he’s asked to do everything and when they’re winning, he’s still doing everything. This Jets defense will throw a lot of different looks at him on Monday night. I’ll be watching to see how he can counter attack what will be coming his way. Expect lots of quick passes because that’s the way you attack a stingy defense is with speed. Feed the Running Backs the ball.

2. Big Opportunity: This is a tone setter to me in the AFC. A week one showdown on Monday night and it’s the Jets first Monday night game since 2020. This is the perfect chance for the Jets to come out and make some noise early on against the team that’s dominated this division for three years and running. When these two met last season at MetLife, the Jets used their defense to make life miserable for Josh Allen. I don’t normally like using this term so early, but this feels like a must-win to get things flowing for them.

3. Sauce/Stefon: It was a war between these two last year and I’m expecting the same once again in this matchup! Sauce Gardner was the primary defender on Stefon Diggs and held him in check. Stefon was kept in check in the two meetings last season. He was held to under 100 yards in both games without any touchdowns. Outside of the Quarterback matchup of course, this is something to pay attention too. Two of the best at their positions and I know Stefon will be eager to get the ball early and be aggressive.

Final Thoughts: What a way to open up a new season! It’s a new start for a legendary Quarterback and the Bills are looking to show once again why they’re the best team in this AFC East division. The Jets have a tough slate to open up the year. Buffalo on Monday night, Dallas in week two, New England in week three and the Chiefs in week four. Three of those teams listed were playoff teams a season ago and as for New England, Belichick always finds a way to beat the Jets. Remember last season when the Bills went across the country and punched the Rams in the mouth? I need to see that same type of performance on Monday night because divisional showdowns are tough. Also, the Bills must play clean football and not allow this defense to create a turnover. The Jets must make Josh a pocket passer. Don’t allow him to extend the play or move the pocket. It will take a little bit for the Jets to get going, especially on offense. Buffalo has more chemistry as a team which will be the determining factor. I like the Bills to escape with a road victory under the lights.

Prediction: Bills 26, Jets 21