By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills and New York Jets will wrap their season series on Sunday at New Era Field.
The two franchises have a long history between each other, but one storyline will be brought out for the first time.
With that, here’s five storylines to watch on Sunday when the Bills host the Jets:
Allen vs. Darnold
We expected this to be part two, instead it’s the first installment. Not only did Jets’ rookie quarterback Sam Darnold miss the Bills and Jets’ first meeting in Week 10, so did Buffalo’s rookie QB Josh Allen. Darnold suffered a foot injury the week before while Allen was dealing with an elbow injury which occurred in Week 6.
Darnold was drafted third-overall by New York while Allen went No. 7 to the Bills at the 2018 NFL Draft. This is going to be a neat battle to watch in the future. Let’s hope this one doesn’t go like the head-to-head battles between EJ Manuel and Geno Smith, though.
So long Kelvin
The Bills shocked the NFL this week as they released wide receiver Andre Holmes. Kidding, the shocking move was Kelvin Benjamin who went out the door with him. The 27-year-old was in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract and just cleared waivers on Wednesday. ESPN insider Adam Schefter expects a team to pick him up soon. Without a doubt, Benjamin underwhelmed during his career with the Bills.
But without both guys, there will be more opportunity. The Bills have featured Robert Foster and Isaiah McKenzie in the past two games. Both have had their moments, both have scored touchdowns. Moving forward, they’ll have greater chances to succeed. Let the tryout for a 2019 roster spot for both Foster and McKenzie begin.
Levi Wallace part 2
Against the Jets, Wallace got his first-career start in Week 10. Since then, he’s been OK. Wallace did allow Donte Moncrief to grab a long pass against him when the Bills faced off against the Jaguars, but most forget about that since a brawl erupted seconds later.
In his last game, Wallace faced DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills from the Dolphins. To date, he probably has his toughest challenge in Week 14. The Jets feature Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa and Jermaine Kearse. Anderson didn’t play the last time these two met, just like Darnold. Keep an eye on the undrafted rookie corner this week to see if he’s up to the task.
Bye-bye Bowles?
New York is led by head coach Todd Bowles. It’s likely the last time we see him.
His seat is hotter than hot. After a 10-6 first season in 2015, the Jets went 5-11 the past two seasons. At 3-9, Bowles’ time to go could be soon. A lot is riding on the final four games for him. ESPN recently labeled Bowles as a coach on the “hot seat.” His seat was the second-hottest in the NFL. Mike McCarthy from Green Bay was the No. 1 there, until he was fired earlier this week.
In addition to having a subpar offense, Bowles’ defense hasn’t been much better this season. Bowles, a defense coach prior to becoming a head coach, has a unit ranked No. 23 in the NFL heading into Week 14 (376.4 yards-per-game allowed.)
Defensive rebound?
OK, maybe the defense didn’t play bad last week. They weren’t great, though. Overall in the game, the unit’s numbers looked well. But in two crunch-time moments, they didn’t.
To open the game, you never want to get scored on early. The Bills did. The Dolphins scored on their opening drive last week. It’s a momentum builder. To Buffalo’s credit, they rebounded and shut down Miami for awhile. In an even bigger moment, the Bills had to stop them late.
They didn’t.
The defense has been great this season, but if there’s a clutch moment, will they show up?