By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills will have their first road game in the AFC East division this season as they’ll head to MetLife Stadium to face the New York Jets.
The Bills and Jets will have to wait until at least Week 14 before we get to see the storyline of Josh Allen vs. Sam Darnold play out for the first time as the Jets’ rookie will miss the game due to a foot injury.
However, there’s still no shortage of things to watch in this one.
With that, here are five storylines to watch on Sunday when the Bills face the Jets:
Will Shady do enough to talk?
It’s been a tough few weeks for Bills running back LeSean McCoy. The 30-year-old has clearly been frustrated. Two weeks ago on Monday Night Football, McCoy had 13 yards on 12 carries. His first carry of the game went for 12 yards. Last week, he had 10 carries for 10 total yards and only played in 41 percent of offensive snaps, his season low for a game that he played the entirety of.
So what’s bugging McCoy? Well, we don’t know. He won’t tell us. It’s easy to guess it has something to do with the team’s 2-7 record and the horrible output on offense. Perhaps if McCoy can get things going against the Jets, he’ll let fans know what’s up.
Who’s CB2?
The Buffalo Bills made a pretty big move this past week. After cornerback Phillip Gaines had two deep pass interference penalties, totaling 90 yards, the team released him. Gaines was among the worst coverage cornerback in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.
The Bills then promoted rookie undrafted cornerback from Alabama, Levi Wallace, to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. But it’ll worth a watch to see who’s starting across from Tre’Davious White now. Ryan Lewis would be the leading candidate as he started in place of Gaines earlier this year. Lewis had eight tackles and forced two fumbles in the loss at Green Bay earlier this year. Or perhaps Buffalo goes with a rotation.
Offensive line moves
The Bills will have at least one for sure new-look on the offensive line against the Jets. On Wednesday and Thursday, rookie fifth-round pick Wyatt Teller has taken the first-team reps in place of Vlad Ducasse during practices. Last week against Chicago, Teller spelled in for Ducasse and John Miller at guard. He was inactive the first eight games of the season before last week.
While it’s a good bet Teller starts, monitor Jeremiah Sirles, too. He spelled in for Jordan Mills last week at right tackle, taking 27 snaps. Mills appears to be the starter still, but Teller and Sirles graded as Buffalo’s top-two offensive lineman last week according to PFF. Both should get looks.
Pryor’s involvement
Terrelle Pryor didn’t have the best of debuts last week for the Bills. On five targets, he had two catches for 17 yards. He also tipped a pass from Nathan Peterman which went for an interception. Even if the pass could’ve been better, it’s not a good look.
In his first game, Pryor played in 82 percent of offensive snaps. He was thrown right into the fire. Kelvin Benjamin only played in 74 percent. But now that he’s been on the team for more than a week, will Pryor see more targets? He’s essentially on a prove-it contract through the rest of this season, so whoever’s starting at QB should look at him a lot.
Messy play
Both the Bills and Jets have among the worst turnover differentials in the NFL heading into Week 10. The Bills rank 29th at -9 while the Jets are tied in 25th with -5. Both teams hurt their totals last week.
The Bills had three interceptions from Nathan Peterman and Jason Croom had a fumble. Darnold had four picks himself in Week 9. Peterman and Darnold both might not play, but turnover problems didn’t just start with these two teams last week. They’ve been a problem all season. Whoever wins the turnover battle will likely win the game.