Bills must avoid Jet-shaped banana skin in Week 2

A potential banana skin for the stampeding Buffalo.

After both teams took part in Week 1 classics, this week’s head-to-head adds plenty of jeopardy for both teams.

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is coaching his first game at MetLife Stadium. A homecoming first win will be a massive motivator.

Buffalo, buoyed by the drama of their Sunday Night Football win over the Baltimore Ravens, will be looking to go 2-0 and slam the door on the Jets and leave them winless.

Here are the key factors for the Bills and the potential banana skin that this game could become.

Bills defense getting Buffaloed

In Week 1, the Bills defense got utterly steamrolled for 56 minutes by the Ravens run game, to the tune of 238 yards.

I was having déjà vu about Week 4 in 2024 where the Ravens posted 271 rushing yards in a blowout win.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, the Jets ran 39 times for 182 yards at 4.7 yards per carry and three touchdowns. Breece Hall and Justin Fields looked dangerous on the ground.

The Bills need to find a solution to this as Aaron Glenn is surely going to run the ball down the Bills’ throat.

To make matters worse, Ed Oliver, star of Week 1, was seen in a walking boot at practice. He will be out a few weeks.

He joins suspended duo Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi on the sidelines. Defensive co-ordinator Bobby Babich has his work cut out to stop the Jets’ run game this week.

Death by a thousand paper cuts

In all likelihood, the route to a Bills victory lies in the hands of reigning MVP Josh Allen – much like it did last week! But I do not see this being on the ground, however, but through the air.

I will not go so far as to say Keon Coleman has emerged as a top target for Allen but he is trending up.

Combining his skillset with that of Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer and Dalton Kincaid is a recipe for success, by spreading the ball out across your dependable receivers.

The second reason why the Bills can take this route to victory is based on the Jets defense. The gap between Sauce Gardner and Brandon Stephens is vast – and everyone knows it.

Avoiding throwing the ball towards Sauce Gardner is a wise move and one I expect offensive co-ordinator Joe Brady to strongly consider.

Second cornerback Brandon Stephens had a rough end to the season in Baltimore in 2024, allowing the sixth-most pass completions.

The Jets then rewarded him in free agency by paying him handsomely. He brought that same energy to Week 1 by getting picked on by Aaron Rodgers for 6 of 8 passes completed for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

More of that this week please!

When better to play Justin Fields?

The coaches have a game of tape to watch back on how the Jets want to use new quarterback Justin Fields, which is incredibly useful.

Equally, it is still early in the season and the Jets offense will probably get more settled over the course of the season. Playing this style of offense so soon is likely a good thing.

Fields had 12 largely designed rushed attempts in Week 1 – the third most in the league. Those rushes got him 48 yards and two touchdowns, so the Bills need to have a plan to contain him.

Fortunately for the Bills defense, they just played the best rushing quarterback in the league – perhaps ever? – in Lamar Jackson.

There is work to be done, because Jackson got an efficient 70 yards and a touchdown from six scrambles.

The Bills’ linebackers need to do a better job to avoid the Jets keeping drives alive using Fields’ legs.