AFC-leading Bills face Jets, looking for fifth straight win

Updated Nov. 4, 2022 3:06 p.m. ET

Associated Press

BUFFALO (6-1) at NEW YORK JETS (5-3)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Bills by 12 1/2

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Bills 4-3-0; Jets 5-3-0

SERIES RECORD: Bills lead 67-56

LAST MEETING: Bills beat Jets 27-10 on Jan. 9, 2022, in Orchard Park, New York.

LAST WEEK: Bills beat Packers 27-17; Jets lost to Patriots 22-17

BILLS OFFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (14), PASS (1), SCORING (2)

BILLS DEFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (4), PASS (9), SCORING (1)

JETS OFFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (20), PASS (14), SCORING (16).

JETS DEFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (9), PASS (10), SCORING (11).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Bills plus-2; Jets even.

BILLS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Gabe Davis. With the Jets expected to focus their coverage on Stefon Diggs, Davis needs to step up after the third-year player struggled while catching two of seven passes thrown his way for just 35 yards against Green Bay. Davis had shown signs of being past an early season ankle injury by combining for six catches for 275 yards and three TDs in his previous two outings.

JETS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Zach Wilson. The second-year quarterback is coming off his poorest outing of the season when he threw three interceptions in the loss to New England. Wilson did pass for a career-high 355 yards — his first 300-yard game — but was just 20 of 41 for a season-low 48.8 percent completion rate. The focus this week has been on him not having negative plays and throwing the ball away if he's in trouble rather than trying to make something happen.

KEY MATCHUP: Bills WR Stefon Diggs vs. Jets CBs Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed. Diggs will provide a massive test for Gardner and Reed, who could both line up against the star receiver throughout the game. Diggs is tied with Kansas City TE Travis Kelce for the league lead with seven TD catches, second in the NFL with 764 yards receiving and third with 55 catches.

KEY INJURIES: Bills S Jordan Poyer was ruled out with an elbow injury. ... LB Matt Milano was listed as questionable with an oblique injury after missing two practices and getting in a limited session Friday. ... Starting RT Spencer Brown (ankle) was questionable after missing one game. ... CB Tre’Davious White wasn’t on the injury report after being activated to the roster Tuesday after missing 11 months with a left knee injury. Bills coach Sean McDermott wouldn’t commit to White playing Sunday. ... Jets WR Corey Davis (knee) will miss a second straight game after not practicing all week.

SERIES NOTES: The game marks the first in which the Bills and Jets have met with both having winning records since Week 9 of the 2011 season, when New York (4-3) won 27-11 in Buffalo (5-2). ... The teams have faced each other once in the postseason, an AFC wild-card victory by the Bills during the 1981 season. ... Buffalo has won the past four meetings, outscoring New York 117-54 during that span. ... The Bills' .545 winning percentage (67-56) is their best against AFC East opponents. ... McDermott is 7-3 against the Jets with Buffalo. ... The Jets' most recent win in the series came in the 2019 season finale, when Sam Darnold's 1-yard toss to Jamison Crowder was the only touchdown in New York's 13-6 victory.

STATS AND STUFF: The Bills are 6-1 or better for just the eighth time in team history and first since 1993, when the Jim Kelly-era team also opened 6-1. ... Buffalo enters having won four straight and a victory Sunday would mark just the seventh time the Bills have won at least seven of their first eight games, which they also did in 1993. ... In two-plus seasons, QB Josh Allen and Diggs have connected for 25 touchdowns, tying the second-best mark for a quarterback-receiving duo in team history. Joe Ferguson threw 25 TD passes to Jerry Butler. Kelly and Andre Reed connected 65 times for TDs. ... Allen’s 156 touchdowns (including one receiving) rank fourth among players through their first five NFL seasons behind only Dan Marino (170), Cam Newton (160) and Patrick Mahomes (159). ... Allen’s two INTs against the Packers were his first turnovers in the second half this season. He’s 25-18 in games with an interception or lost fumble, and 5-1 this season. ... The Bills have topped 300 yards in 12 straight outings, 14 including the playoffs. ... Of Buffalo’s 67 offensive drives not ending at the half or fourth quarter, 48 have crossed midfield and 34 have resulted in points. They’ve had only 11 three-and-outs. ... Pass rusher Von Miller is tied for seventh in the NFL with six sacks. He ranks 21st in the league with 121 1/2 sacks, a half-sack behind Simeon Rice and 1 1/2 behind Robert Mathis. ... Buffalo’s 21 sacks through seven games matches its most over the same span since Rex Ryan’s final season as coach in 2016. ... Poyer is tied for first in the NFL with four interceptions despite missing two games to injuries. ... The Jets had their four-game winning streak snapped in the loss to the Patriots last Sunday. ... A victory would give New York at least six wins in its first nine games for the first time since 2010, when the Jets opened 7-2. ... Wilson is 1-5 against AFC East teams in his young career, with three TDs and seven INTs. ... WR Garrett Wilson leads the Jets with 34 receptions and 429 yards receiving. He's also the first Jets rookie to have two 100-yard receiving performance in the first eight weeks of the season. ... RB James Robinson, acquired last week from Jacksonville, ran for 17 yards on five carries last Sunday in his Jets debut. ... New York went 5 for 14 on third down last week, making it just 9 for 39 in those situations in its past three games. ... The Jets have 21 sacks to rank tied for ninth in the league. ... DE Carl Lawson's combined total of 45 quarterback hits (16) and quarterback pressures (29) rank first in the NFL. ... New York had 13 tackles for loss against New England, its most since 2000.

FANTASY TIP: Jets TE Tyler Conklin is developing a good rapport for Wilson, who has been finding him as an outlet in the short passing game. Conklin has 10 catches, including two TDs, on 16 targets in the past two games and could see some more passes come his way against the Bills' No. 3 overall defense.

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