The Jets host the Buffalo Bills at the end of a tumultuous week that saw them return from a tough loss to the Vikings and then shake things up by unexpectedly firing head coach Robert Saleh. Both teams will be looking to avoid a third straight loss on Monday night.
Here are the biggest stories to watch as the Jets seek to take over the AFC East lead…
The Jeff Ulbrich era gets underway
Ulbrich was announced as the interim head coach for the rest of the season on Tuesday and is widely viewed as someone who was set to become a head coaching candidate soon. Therefore, retaining him as the permanent coach could be an option if he does a good job.
It will be fascinating to see how well prepared the Jets are on Monday night and whether they make any strategic tweaks. That seems likely, especially since Ulbrich already announced that Todd Downing will take over play calling duties from Nathaniel Hackett on offense.
Can Garrett Wilson and Aaron Rodgers build on Sunday’s second half?
Whether Rodgers and Wilson can get on the same page has been an ongoing theme, and Wilson had his most productive game of the season with 101 yards in London on Sunday, albeit that this only came as a result of throwing it to him 23 times.
The pair did seem to click to some extent in the second half though. Wilson had eight catches for 71 yards and a touchdown after halftime as the Jets almost pulled off a comeback win.
While New York will look to build on this, they should be wary of becoming too one dimensional. Players like Mike Williams (two catches on Sunday) and Xavier Gipson (no targets) were underused. Will Downing take a different approach in his first game calling plays?
Will the Bills continue to be affected by injuries?
Buffalo is already without some key players because Matt Milano is on injured reserve and Von Miller is suspended. However, they are even more banged-up after last weekend’s game and there could be other starters unavailable.
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver and leading receiver Khalil Shakir both missed Sunday’s game, and leading rusher James Cook also missed practice time this week which could leave the Bills even more shorthanded for Monday night.
Slot cornerback Taron Johnson has only played seven defensive snaps this season, but he could return on Monday, as could starting safety Taylor Rapp, who just cleared concussion protocol.
Can the Jets get the running game going?
The Jets have struggled to run the ball in the last two games, with Breece Hall unable to get anything going. Hall has just 27 yards on 19 carries since the win over New England.
The Jets will hope to have more success this week because they are facing a Bills team that has given up over 90 yards in all five games. They are currently 26th in the NFL for run defense.
It will also make a difference if Morgan Moses returns to action. Moses has missed the last two games with a knee injury and rookie Olu Fashanu struggled as he started in his place.
Will Josh Allen be able to play mistake-free football?
In last season’s opener, Allen threw three interceptions – all of them to safety Jordan Whitehead – as the Jets pulled off an upset win in overtime. This was uncharacteristic from Allen, as it’s the only time he’s thrown more than two interceptions in his past 39 regular season starts.
Allen also threw two interceptions in another upset loss to the Jets in 2022. The Jets probably need to pressure him into similar mistakes on Monday night to have a chance to win this matchup, but Allen should be eager to make more plays as he’s coming off a rough game against Houston that saw him complete just nine of 30 pass attempts.
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