Bills vs Jets preview, predictions, betting odds, live stream info
By Phil Watson
Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets
It’s the Buffalo Bills, not the New York Jets, who are in contention in the AFC East and the AFC playoff hunt this season.
But if the Bills are to hand the Jets their seventh straight loss on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, they’ll do it with a vastly different backfield than they started the season with.
Out are Fred Jackson (groin) and C.J. Spiller (collarbone). In their place are Bryce Brown and Anthony Dixon.
The Jets, meanwhile, gave the New England Patriots a battle last Thursday night in Foxborough, but Geno Smith’s potential game-tying two-point conversion pass sailed over the head of Jace Amaro.
Buffalo, meanwhile, comes in off a final-second victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Kyle Orton connected with rookie Sammy Watkins on a 2-yard touchdown pass with a second remaining and Dan Carpenter’s PAT proved to be the winning margin.
Details for Sunday’s game are below:
Date: Sunday, Oct. 26
Start Time: 1 p.m. Eastern
Location: East Rutherford, N.J.
Stadium: MetLife Stadium
TV Info: CBS
Live Stream: NFL Sunday Ticket
Radio: Sirius XM Radio
Ticket information: For Jets ticket info click here. For Bills ticket info click here.
Keys to Victory
For Buffalo’s defense, the key is simple. Force Geno Smith to beat them by holding the Jets’ running game in check. The Bills have the fourth-best rushing defense in the NFL, holding opponents to 80.4 yards per game, while the Jets are fifth in the league in rushing offense, averaging 135 yards a game.
So something has to give.
The Bills were only 19th in the league with Jackson and Spiller and Gang Green has a pretty good run defense, too (eighth in the NFL, allowing 88 yards per game).
So it could come down to Kyle Orton vs. Geno Smith in a battle the NFL likely won’t be using for any of those “come see our glorious quarterbacks” promotional videos.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Bills plus-3
Moneyline: Bills plus-125/Jets minus-145
O/U: 3 (I kid, I kid) … 40½
Prediction
The Bills have actually traveled fairly well, winning two of their first three on the road (at Chicago and at Detroit). If they were healthy in the backfield, this would be a nice upset pick. Buffalo isn’t healthy in the backfield, however, and forcing a Kyle Orton-led team to become one-dimensional behind the pass has seldom ended well … for the Kyle Orton-led team, anyway.
Final Score: Jets 22, Bills 20