David Troy
Videos by OutKick
Bills vs. Jets, 8:15 ET
We’ve made it to the end of Week 1. We started the week with an odd, but entertaining game from the Lions and Chiefs, some fun games on Sunday, a good one Sunday night, and now our first Monday Night Football game of the season. This is usually one of the best games of the week, at least that’s what the NFL wants us to expect. I think we could get a good one between the Bills and the Jets.
The Bills come in once again looking to get over the hump and make it to the Super Bowl. They were thwarted last season by the Bengals and just can’t seem to get where they need to go. Is Josh Allen able to lead them to the promise land? I don’t think they would be considering any sort of replacement any time soon, but he still makes some stupid decisions and ultimately has been unsuccessful in the playoffs. A lot of that isn’t his fault – he almost willed them to win over the Chiefs a few years ago. Still, what can we expect from them this season? More offense should be possible as it seems like they have their first ever running back in the mix with Allen. They have James Cook who should be able to at least relieve a bit of pressure off of Allen, and even Damien Harris and Latavius Murray are decent backups. It should be interesting to see how much more Allen can get out of Gabe Davis and Deonte Harty. You know he will get Stefon Diggs the ball often. The defense will struggle a bit without Von Miller, one of their better defensive ends from a year ago. Obviously, Damar Hamlin is back and that will garner a lot of headlines. I do think they take a bit of a step back as a unit, though.
Did the Jets do anything exciting this offseason? Oh, yeah, they added one of the better quarterbacks in the history of the game, Aaron Rodgers. This is now his team and the attention falls on him to bring them to the playoffs and ultimately the Super Bowl. The Jets weren’t that bad last season. They ended with a 7-10 record, but at least it was respectable. I think the question really becomes, are they just one quarterback away from being winners? That’s where I have a bit of pause. Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook should give Rodgers options for handing the ball off and even dump off passes. Both are adept running backs and can be used in a variety of ways. Garrett Wilson looks like one of the better young receivers in the game. Allen Lazard has familiarity with Rodgers from his time in Green Bay, and Mecole Hardman is a respectable enough third option. What really will make a difference on this team is the defense. The Jets defensively should be one of the better units in football. If they take a step back from last year, then it doesn’t matter if Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, or Patrick Mahomes is under center, they probably won’t win many games.
As far as this one goes, I think we probably will see a somewhat lower scoring game. The Bills are probably more likely to break out in this game. I’d imagine that the Jets will need a bit of time to click. At just 45.5 I’m hesitant to take the total, and I do have more confidence in the Bills to cover a short road favorite even against a divisional team. I’ll back the Bills -2.5 in this one.
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