After a nice bye week because of their 20-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 9, the Jets now have six games left on their schedule.
This Sunday they will head west to Buffalo to take on the Bills. When they hosted the Bills earlier in the season Geno Smith was benched for Michael Vick in the first quarter after he threw three interceptions that led the way to a 43-23 loss.
While many believe their win against the Steelers was impressive, I believe that the Steeelers just overlooked them. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was extremely sloppy all game and threw two interceptions, which is very unlike him.
This game should have been a lot closer. Vick has shown that he is a much more capable quarterback than Smith and gives the Jets a better chance of winning.
The key to the game will be how the Jets’ offensive line plays. Currently, the Bills lead the entire NFL in sacks with 39, led by Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus who both have 10 sacks on the season. This means that it is extra important to make sure all of the Jets’ offensive linemen know their responsibilities and hold their blocks to ensure that the offense has time to operate in an efficient manner.
While the offensive line needs to know their responsibilities for each play, they also need to make sure they are disciplined. They have committed too many penalties this season and guard Willie Colon leads the entire league with 10 false starts.
If the line can give Vick time, then he won’t have to start scrambling earlier in the play and improvise on the fly as opposed to reading the defense and making a simple play.
When the Bills have the ball, the Jets’ secondary needs to make sure they all know who they’re supposed to be covering. Safety Jaiquawn Jarrett had the game of his life last game against the Steelers, but it’s doubtful he will up that performance this season or ever again in his career.
Yes, that sounds extremely pessimistic, but I’m a Jets fan, so that’s what I do.
Most of all, I hope that Head Coach Rex Ryan can act in a civilized manner. It’s one thing to act confident, but he should not be constantly screaming profanities at the officials. His team has had an awful season, and when he acts like this he is simply embarrassing the organization even more.
Ultimately, as I do most weeks, I think the Jets will lose. The Bills will win 24-16 and give the Jets a record of 2-9. Vick will fumble twice in key spots that will be too much for the Jets to overcome. Chris Ivory will return to his form from earlier in the season and rush for 115 yards and a touchdown.
The Jets will record three sacks, but unfortunately, they will give up seven, which will cause Vick to play through an extraordinary amount of pain.
This loss will start a five game losing streak for the Jets as the only other game they will win all season is their last game of the season against the Miami Dolphins.