NFL Week 2: Who plays on Thursday night?
By John Buhler
The Buffalo Bills will host their AFC East rival in the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football to kickoff Week 2 of the 2016 NFL season on Sept. 15.
The first quick turnaround of the 2016 NFL season will occur in the AFC East, as the Buffalo Bills will host their division rival in the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football, Sept. 15. CBS, the NFL Network, and Twitter will broadcast the 8:25 p.m. ET kickoff at New Era Field Thursday night.
Week 1 didn’t go as well as either the Bills or Jets would have liked. Both teams lost their Week 1 games and their AFC East nemesis New England Patriots defeated the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football in Glendale.
The Miami Dolphins did lose a tough road game in Seattle Sunday afternoon, but the Bills and Jets’ losses sting more with the New England victory. Barring a rare tie, either Buffalo or New York will be facing an 0-2 hole to start the season before kickoff on Sunday. It’s early, but Thursday night is a must-win game for both AFC East teams.
New York looked better than Buffalo, as the Jets only lost at home to the Cincinnati Bengals by a late Mike Nugent field goal. Cincinnati looks playoff-caliber, but the Jets didn’t do themselves any favors in the secondary in Week 1. Ryan Fitzpatrick also wasn’t as magical as he had been for the Jets in 2015.
Buffalo struggled to move the chains against a weak Baltimore Ravens secondary on Sunday. The Bills paid quarterback Tyrod Taylor handsomely this past summer, but he didn’t deliver a winnable road game for Buffalo against the Ravens. Maybe he and the Bills will play better at home on Thursday night?
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Expect a low-scoring, frankly an ugly Thursday night game in Orchard Park. Four days to prepare after tough Week 1 losses may not be enough time for either Buffalo or New York to fix all of their opening week issues. However, getting a Week 2 win over a division rival could provide the impetus for a strong Week 3 performance.