Finishing, a learned skill in the NFL, separates the Bills and Jets in the AFC East standings as they prepare to square off Sunday and put heart-stopping Week 1 endings in the rearview mirror.
While the Jets lost 34-32 to the Steelers, the Bills (1-0) are back where they finished last season, atop the division standings after a wild 41-40 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. The only team in the AFC East with a win in Week 1, Bills head coach Sean McDermott put the team in full pads on Wednesday as a blunt reminder to put the focus on self-improvement and the New York Jets.
“Truthful conversations,” McDermott said of how he planned to make this week “hard” on his players. The general message is good enough is not good enough.
“The game talks to you, and it tells you things about your team and your process and how you want to prepare (for) the next go-around,” McDermott said on Wednesday. “When you try and prepare in the light of being an elite performer, that elite preparation is hard in order to get yourself where you need to go as we move forward here.”
A first look at the Justin Fields-led Jets offense impressed McDermott. New York pounded the ball on the ground and gained 182 yards against a strong Pittsburgh defense with Fields and Breece Hall standing out as big-play threats. The Bills were torched by the Ravens and Derrick Henry, allowing 8.2 yards per carry and 238 yards to Baltimore. The Ravens scored three of their five touchdowns on running plays.
The Jets ran the ball 39 times last week and are certain to set out to attack the weakness in Buffalo’s run defense after averaging 4.7 yards per carry in Week 1. Fields rushed for two touchdowns and passed for one in his Jets debut.
“I’ve said it from the very beginning, we’re going to let him play quarterback,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said of Fields, who has been passed over as a starter by the Bears and Steelers but is just only 26 years old. “We’re going to see the things that he likes and we’re also going to progress what he’s not good at so he can get better in that aspect.”
Fields completed 16 of 22 passes for 218 yards and added 48 on the ground. Hall gained 107 yards on 18 carries.
“They racked up a ton of yards. They held the ball, kept the ball away from Aaron (Rodgers) there. This is a good team. By all accounts should have won that game,” McDermott said. “You can tell they’re trying to revamp things and I respect that. Reminds me a lot of our early years here.”
Buffalo has won three in a row in the series since a 22-16 overtime loss in 2023. The Bills had a 26-point margin in two of those meetings.
But this is the first look at the revamped model with Glenn at the helm, and the former Jets defensive back has a defense loaded with talent. He’s determined to figure out an offensive approach but early returns indicate the game plan will be built around a run-first attack.
Honing in on the Jets’ backfield with what remains a banged-up secondary is a catch-22 for the Bills. Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson caught seven passes for 95 yards and a 33-yard touchdown last week. He caught TD passes in both matchups with Buffalo in 2024, amassing 15 total receptions.
“After Monday, I flushed that game,” Glenn said. “I’m excited about the type of things we’re trying to build, how we’re moving forward. I try my best not to look back and focus on what just happened. I focus on what we’re trying to do, continue to play our brand of football, because I think that speaks louder than anything. I think we have damn good players on this team.”
How the Bills approach the secondary is largely dependent on health.
Cornerback Taron Johnson (quad) and linebacker Shaq Thompson (hamstring/hand) did not practice Wednesday. Cornerback Tre’Davious White (knee) was able to participate, McDermott said, while noting the Bills will take it “one day at a time” before determining individual availability to play Sunday against the Jets.
Also limited in Wednesday’s practice for Buffalo were running back James Cook (hamstring), defensive end Greg Rousseau (knee), tight end Dawson Knox (hip) and CB Brandon Codrington (knee).
A continued talking point around the Buffalo offense, developing a Wilson-type No. 1 receiver, might soon transition to how deep Josh Allen’s list of options has become.
Second-year receiver Keon Coleman racked up a career-high eight catches for 112 yards and reeled in a touchdown pass from Allen against the Ravens. He was one of five Bills’ targets with at least four receptions and 48 yards in Week 1.
“You get open, usually Josh can see you and put the ball where he needs to put it,” McDermott said when asked if there was a design in the game plan to feed Coleman. ” … Throw to the open receiver. That’s a good play, isn’t it?”
Allen had 33 completions, 394 yards and two TD passes last week. The Bills might be counting on Allen to put up video-game numbers until the Buffalo defense finds its footing.
Buffalo allowed 32 points in the playoff loss to the Chiefs in January, 35 to the Ravens in a 25-point loss last September and dropped a 44-42 decision against the Rams in December 2024.
McDermott said he saw positive signs during the fourth-quarter rally to beat Baltimore, but will spend the week reminding his team to learn from the narrow escape.
“Those three stops, if we don’t get one of those stops, we don’t win that game,” McDermott said. ” … We’ve got to buckle down and get ready for us and how we can improve.”
On the Jets injury report, running back Kene Nwangwu (hamstring), tight end Mason Taylor (ankle) and defensive lineman Jay Tufele (illness) did not practice Wednesday after all three played against the Steelers. Cornerback Michael Carter II (shoulder), linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball (calf) and offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor (hand) were limited.
