Gregg Williams hopes he can revamp a Jets defense that looked lost at times throughout the 2018 season. The Jets brought in several important players – C.J. Mosley and Quinnen Williams – in hopes of doing that, but lost a few stalwarts in Avery Williamson and Morris Claiborne.
Against the Bills, it all comes down to stopping the dynamic, cannon-armed Josh Allen. The second-year quarterback only played the Jets once during his rookie season, but he wracked up over 300 total yards and a rushing touchdown in a Week 13 Bills loss. Buffalo brought in some new offensive talent, but the keys for Jets defense remain the same if they want to beat their division rival.
Pressure Josh Allen
Much like the Jets, the Bills open the 2019 season with a young gunslinger in Josh Allen. He flashed during his rookie season but is still highly susceptible to pressure and tends to force the ball. The Jets exploited that weakness in their Week 13 win in 2018 when they sacked Allen three times and forced two turnovers. They need to target him early and often to disrupt the Bills offense and force turnovers.
Allen tended to crumble under pressure at times in 2018. In games where he was sacked at least three times, the Bills went 1-4. But with that being said, the Jets also can’t let Allen run with the ball if they bring pressure. In the final six games of the season, Allen averaged 79.3 rushing yards on 54 attempts per game with five touchdowns. While the Bills only went 3-3 during that stretch, they were able to muster more points over that period than the rest of the season.
Don’t give let John Brown get downfield
The Bills don’t have much in offensive firepower, but wide receiver John Brown could give the Jets secondary fits if they let him run downfield. The speedster is a deep threat just waiting to happen, and he’s already become one of Josh Allen’s favorite targets. Brown finished eighth in air yards among receivers in 2018 with 1,159 for the Ravens and Allen loves to throw the deep ball.
Brown has the speed to burn a cornerback, so the Jets will need to keep a safety back. That’s easier said than done since the Jets secondary is already woefully shallow. The Jets’ best hope is to keep Brown blanketed long enough that Allen can’t find him before the Jets defense is able to get to the quarterback. If the Jets can neutralize Brown, the Bills offense could stutter throughout.
Stop the run game
The Bills cut LeSean McCoy in favor of a three-headed running back committee but also invested heavily in their offensive line to support that running game. Between rookie Devin Singletary, ageless wonder Frank Gore and pass-catching veteran T.J. Yeldon, the Bills will field a solid squad of rushers after posting a top-nine rushing yards unit in 2018. They won all six of their games when they rushed for more than 100 yards last season.
The Jets need to play better in the trenches to contain that rushing attack to keep the Bills off the scoreboard, and that begins and ends with the defensive line of Leonard Williams, Quinnen Williams, Steve McLendon and Henry Anderson. All four, plus middle linebacker C.J. Mosley, must find ways to pressure the offensive line and hold back the Bills’ running game.
Force turnovers
The Jets will need to be better at forcing turnovers in 2019 to win this season. That all starts against the Bills, who went 0-8 last year when they turned the ball over at least twice. The Jets, meanwhile, only forced two turnovers in five games last season.
That should change with Gregg Williams’ aggressive defensive style. Josh Allen proved to be a turnover machine during his rookie season and the Jets will need to take advantage of that tendency to flip the game script in Week 1. If the Jets can start the year with a few takeaways, it will set the defense up nicely for the rest of the season.
