Jets' defense faces big test vs. Bills and Josh Allen

The Jets have not beaten the Bills since the season finale in 2019. Buffalo has outscored them 117-54 in the past four games. The Jets lost 45-17 and 27-10 in head-to-head battles last year.

The gap between the two teams never felt wider than after that final game last season, when the Jets’ season ended and the Bills prepared for a playoff run.

Now, they meet again.

“Probably the most complete football team we’ll see all season,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said.

Yes, the 6-1 Bills might be the best team in football. If they are not the best, they are in the top three.

Sunday’s game is a measuring stick to see how much the Jets have closed the gap with the current kings of the AFC East. It is a test for the defense in particular. The Jets have made huge leaps on that side of the ball this year. After ranking dead last a season ago, they enter this one sixth in yards against, averaging 311.4 yards allowed.

Josh Allen will be a big test for Quinnen Williams (inset) and the Jets’ defense.

Getty Images; Corey Sipkin

But the Bills’ offense is by far the best one the Jets have seen this season. Buffalo enters this game first in total offense (430.6 yards per game), first in passing offense (307.7) and second in scoring offense (27.7 points per game).

If the Jets’ defense wants to show it’s for real, it needs to slow down these high-powered Bills.

“They present a huge challenge,” rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “Having a lot of weapons at receiver, having a quarterback that can throw the ball and do it with his legs, having a great running back — they present a huge challenge. But I feel like we have what it takes with the guys here.”

It starts with quarterback Josh Allen. He leads the NFL with 21 total touchdowns and is equally dangerous with his arm and his legs. He has thrown for 2,198 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He has run for 306 yards and two touchdowns. The 2018 first-round pick is an MVP candidate and has answered all of the questions surrounding him when he was in the draft.

“He’s like huge,” Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams said. “He’s like 6-[foot]-5 I think, can stiff-arm, can run the ball, can jump, can hurdle. He’s basically like a running back who can throw the ball real good. He’s an elite quarterback. When he has to throw a deep ball, he has an elite arm. He’s a super-powerful quarterback. Going against him is going to be a big challenge.”

Allen has a strong supporting cast around him. Stefon Diggs has a franchise-record 55 receptions through seven games. To put that in perspective, it is 21 more catches than Jets leading receiver Garrett Wilson has in one less game.

Gardner said he would “most definitely” like to follow Diggs on Sunday, but that is not something Saleh’s defense usually does. It will be interesting to see if the Jets feel like this week should be an exception. D.J. Reed has played well opposite Gardner, so the Jets may just play sides. The Bills also have a strong No. 2 receiver in Gabe Davis, who has 418 yards receiving.

Carl Lawson

Robert Sabo

“The quarterback is a cog to a bigger machine: The more you surround them with great players, the better he’ll get,” Saleh said. “Stefon is one of the best in football, excellent route-runner, violence, plays with intensity, plays with swag, so he’s really good. Gabe is just a big, big body and then their backs are all really good, out of the backfield, tight ends really good, O-line does a nice job. So, he’s surrounded by the right pieces, and you take a guy like Josh who’s already, by himself, fantastic, it just makes for a really good offense.”

The Jets’ defense carried the team during its four-game winning streak and can do it again by containing Allen and Co.

“We have to be physical,” defensive end John Franklin-Myers said. “We have to be violent. We have to turn [Allen] into a running back if that’s what he wants to be.”

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