The Buffalo Bills travel to East Rutherford to face the division rival New York Jets in week one. The Jets are coming off a four-win season while Buffalo is coming off of a six-win season. Josh Allen and Sam Darnold are both entering their sophomore season and look to win the third meeting of their careers. With both team’s making moves during the off-season, it will be interesting to see which team is victorious in week one. Here is the Buffalo Bills week one preview.
Bills Week One Preview Against the New York Jets
Offense
The Bills and Jets both added to their offenses this past offseason. The Jets added Le’Veon Bell to bolster their running game while adding wide receiver Jamison Crowder to help Sam Darnold. The Bills added multiple receivers to their starting offense. Cole Beasley and John Brown will immediately become the top two targets for Josh Allen. They also added running back Frank Gore, who will be the team’s starter after they cut LeSean McCoy at the end of the preseason. The Bills also drafted rookie running back Devin Singletary who performed well in the preseason.
The Bills’ offensive line has also undergone construction. Their line will see a few new starters and many new backups. Mitch Morse and rookie Cody Ford are new additions to the Bills’offensive line. Both teams have new offenses led by young quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see which offense has built better chemistry through the preseason and who will outperform the other on Sunday.
Defense
The Jets made major improvements to their defense this offseason. They added linebacker C.J Mosley to their defense as well as linebacker Avery Williamson. Unfortunately, Williamson tore his ACL and will miss his entire first season as a Jet. The Jets drafted Quinnen Williams third overall in the 2019 NFL draft and hope he can make an immediate impact for them on defense. The Bills also drafted a defensive tackle in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. Ed Oliver is set to start for Buffalo and him and Williams will both look to impact their first NFL regular-season game. Buffalo is retuning mostly the same starting defense that played well last season. Led by Micah Hyde and Tre’Davious White, the Bills’ defense has top-five potential in 2019.
Special Teams
The Bills recently signed their kicker Stephen Hauschka to a two-year extension this past week. The Jets have a less than ideal situation at kicker. The signed Kaare Vedvik after he was released by the Minnesota Vikings at the end of the preseason. Their starting kicker will play in week one for them after being a member of the team for only a week. The Jets, however, have a strong punter in Lachlan Edwards while the Bills are currently working with Corey Bojorquez. Bojorquez has struggled throughout the preseason, but Buffalo believes that he can become consistent for them as he is a young punter. In the return game, Buffalo signed former Jets returner Andre Roberts to be their new return specialist. The Jets replaced Roberts with former New England Patriots receiver Braxton Berrios.
Prediction
The Bills and Jets are both teams that could be categorized as up-and-coming. Buffalo has a strong defense, but a very new offense who may need some time to come together as a complete unit. The Jets have added Le’Veon Bell to their offense, which makes them an immediate threat. The Bills defense should be able to contain the Jets’ offense, even if Bell dominates. The Bills new-look offense should be able to take advantage of the Jets’ weaker defense. Buffalo leaves East Rutherford with a victory in week one and will return a week later to face the Giants in week two.
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