Jets vs. Bills: Preview, prediction, what to watch for in Week 2

An inside look at Sunday’s Jets-Steelers NFL Week 2 matchup at MetLife Stadium:

Marquee matchup

Bills QB Josh Allen vs. Jets front seven

The Jets don’t get a break in Week 2 after facing a rejuvenated Aaron Rodgers last week. Josh Allen is operating at an unbelievably high level right now.

He won his first MVP award last season and put on a show in a 41-40 win over the Ravens last week — when he threw for 251 yards in the fourth quarter and led the Bills to three scores in the final four minutes of the comeback win.

The Jets pass defense was leaky against the Steelers with several coverage breakdowns. It is going to be key to pressure Allen and not let him escape the pocket.

“There’s a number of things he does well,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “He’s big, he’s physical, one thing that really stands out about him is he’s highly, highly competitive. He is one of those guys who can will his team to victory. That’s one thing we have to do a really good job of — our will has to be stronger than his will. That’s a challenge in itself because of who he is. This is going to be a game of who out-wills each other.”

The Jets sacked Rodgers four times last week, led by Will McDonald’s two sacks.

The Jets have played well against Allen through the years. He has 11 interceptions and seven fumbles against them, the most against anyone in his career in both categories.

Four downs

Secondary issue: The Jets had major issues in coverage in the loss to the Steelers. Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdowns, and two of them were directly because of coverage breakdowns.

Outside of Sauce Gardner, the defensive backs were not strong. Brandon Stephens had a particularly bad day with a touchdown allowed, a missed interception and a missed tackle that were all costly.

“Brandon has been doing a really good job in coverage all through training camp,” coach Aaron Glenn said. “The thing that we have to continue to work on with him is being able to locate and finish on the ball. Listen, I am encouraged, and I do think as the season progresses he will be able to make those plays because he’s a really good cover guy, and that showed … on tape. I think some of the zone coverage we have to get better at as far as understanding exactly where guys are and matching these guys for the most part.”

Ground attack: The Jets showed what their running game can look like against the Steelers. They ran for 182 yards, led by Breece Hall’s 107 yards on 19 carries.

Now they have a chance to do it again against a Bills team that gave up 238 yards rushing in the win over the Ravens.

The Bills also will be without start defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who injured his ankle this week.

“Something we’ve talked about throughout the spring and into training camp of what our DNA and what we want to look like on offense, I think that showed up,” offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. “And that was positive for us in that first game.”

Sub division: This is the first AFC East game for Glenn as coach. The Jets have not won the division since 2002. If things are truly going to change around the Jets, they need to start winning games inside the division.

They went 2-4 against the division last year, including a sweep at the hands of the Bills. Their last victory over the Bills was in the 2023 season opener. Glenn said he is not putting added importance on this game, though.

“I understand that the quickest way to get to the playoffs is to win your division,” Glenn said. “I see it from that aspect. To me, I look at each game in itself, and listen, I come to win every game. It doesn’t matter. They all mean the same to me, to be honest with you.”

Wake me up when September ends: The month of September has not been kind to the Jets in recent years. Last week’s loss to the Steelers drops them to 6-21 in September games since 2017. They will be trying to reverse that trend with three more games coming this month against the Bills, Buccaneers and Dolphins.

The Jets have not started 0-2 since 2021, which was Robert Saleh’s first season as coach. It is rare for teams that start 0-2 to make the playoffs, making this one even more important.

Costello’s call

The gulf between the Bills and Jets in the division has been huge for years, but these two teams tend to play close games at MetLife Stadium. Five of the past six meetings here have been decided by one score. The Jets offense will make noise again, but Josh Allen proves to be too much and pulls out another close one.

Bills 31, Jets 30