The Bills are closing in on their Week 10 trip to MetLife Stadium, and the Jets are coming into that matchup buried near the bottom of the league in just about every national power ranking.
New York’s 2-7 record has left little room for optimism, and the latest round of media rankings shows just how far the Jets have fallen after another rough Sunday. Their loss to the Chiefs kept them stuck in the same neighborhood, with most outlets slotting them in the mid-to-late 20s or all the way down at No. 31.
USA TODAY put the Jets at No. 28, while Pro Football Talk had them at No. 31. FOX Sports also ranked them 31st, noting the team’s 2-7 mark and calling the season “shambolic” after another pounding from Kansas City.
The Athletic placed New York at No. 29 and didn’t sugarcoat the state of the season. The outlet wrote that “Hopes for a more competitive season in Aaron Glenn’s second year in charge are pretty much gone,” adding that “The defense is a mess.” It also pointed to first-round picks David Bailey and Omar Cooper Jr. as bright spots, calling them “legitimate studs.”
Bleacher Report had the Jets at No. 26, but the writeup was just as bleak. It said the team has “quickly reached the stage where a potential coaching change may be necessary,” and added that Glenn keeps talking about the process of becoming a good team, but “Eventually, some type of results are necessary.” The piece also said the Jets are “finding ways to lose and play sloppy football despite featuring significant talent at numerous levels.”
CBS Sports also listed New York at No. 26, saying the Chiefs “mauled” them on the road and that the game represented a regression on both sides of the ball. CBS noted one silver lining: the Jets have three high first-round picks next year.
ESPN had the Jets at No. 27, down one spot from the previous week. The outlet framed the second half around draft position, writing that “This is all about draft position.”
It also pointed out that the Jets could end up with two picks in the top five and raised the possibility of another damaging loss to a winless team, after New York already lost to the Dolphins when they were 0-5. ESPN added a bit of cruel symmetry, noting that the Jets won a late-season game in Los Angeles in 2020 that may have cost them a shot at Trevor Lawrence, and that Adam Gase - the Jets’ coach then - is now the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach.
FOX Sports’ ranking came with a Stat To Know that underscored one of the few individual bright spots on the roster: rookie David Bailey is the only NFL player with at least five sacks and five forced fumbles this season, and the only rookie since 2000 to hit both marks through his first eight career games.
For the Bills, the takeaway is simple enough: their next opponent is still stuck in the league’s basement, and the national consensus doesn’t suggest the Jets are climbing out anytime soon.
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The Bills Monday night trip to Minnesota ended up being part of a bigger ESPN broadcast story than just the game itself. Pat McAfees alternate feed for Bills-Vikings drew 406,000 viewers, while the NFL Networks Next Gen Stats broadcast pulled in 499,000, a notable edge in the same Week 9 window. It was also the second time this season that Next Gen Stats has topped McAfees show in viewership, a reminder that ESPNs experiment with alternate presentations is still fighting for traction.
There was still a bit of star power attached to the broadcast, though, as former CBS analyst Tony Romo made a surprise appearance after his departure from CBS Sports. Even with that kind of name recognition, the numbers suggest ESPNs prime-time broadcast setup remains a work in progress, especially when the competition is another niche feed drawing a larger audience. For Bills fans, it was one more layer to a national spotlight game that ended up generating as much discussion about the telecast as the action on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Fans Have One Big Reason To Be Uneasy About Sunday
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Still, there is enough here to make Buffalo fans a little uneasy. The Jets bring a young roster built around three first-round picks, and the game could hinge on details like red zone execution and whether James Cook can help tilt the matchup in Buffalos favor. The bigger concern may be up front, where injury issues on the Bills offensive line could test a group that cannot afford to lose much stability in a division game. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Suddenly Have A Jets Concern Fans Can't Ignore
The Bills Wednesday injury report arrived with a little more weight than usual as they turned their attention to the Jets, and the list was long enough to raise a few eyebrows. Buffalo had 11 players on it, with several important names on the offensive line showing up as limited, including Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, Alec Anderson and Connor McGovern. For a team that has leaned on stability up front, that kind of midweek uncertainty is never ideal heading into a divisional matchup.
Christian Benford and Dalton Kincaid were also limited, adding to the sense that Buffalo is managing a few moving parts at once rather than dealing with just one isolated issue. Jordan Hancock and Tyrell Shavers were full participants, but their roster situations still leave some questions hanging as the week unfolds. The Bills have time to sort through it, but the early tone of the report is enough to make this Jets week feel a little more complicated than expected. [Read more 🡒]