Bills seek to clinch AFC East in season finale against Jets

Updated Jan. 6, 2022 12:26 p.m. ET

Associated Press

NEW YORK JETS (4-12) at BUFFALO (10-6)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, CBS

BETTING LINE: Buffalo by 16 1/2, according to

AGAINST THE SPREAD: New York 6-10; Buffalo 9-7.

SERIES RECORD: Bills lead 66-56.

LAST MEETING: Bills beat Jets 45-17 at New York on Nov. 14, 2021.

LAST WEEK: Jets lost to Buccaneers 28-24; Bills beat Falcons 29-14.

JETS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (24t), PASS (17), SCORING (25).

JETS DEFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (29), PASS (29), SCORING (32).

BILLS OFFENSE: OVERALL (5), RUSH (6), PASS (10), SCORING (3)

BILLS DEFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (19), PASS (1), SCORING (2)

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Jets minus-13; Bills plus-8.

JETS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Zach Wilson. The rookie has been solid down the stretch with a streak of four consecutive starts with no interceptions, something no Jets QB has done in his first season. He has thrown only two touchdown passes in that span, but his decisiveness and confidence have been much improved. The Bills’ top-ranked defense will give Wilson one final tough test heading into the offseason.

BILLS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Devin Singletary. Buffalo has re-established a ground game behind Singletary, who had a career-best 23 carries for 110 yards and scored twice against Atlanta. In 14 quarters since Buffalo trailed 24-3 at halftime in an eventual 33-27 OT loss at Tampa Bay, Singletary has combined for 287 yards rushing and four TDs, and 86 yards receiving.

KEY MATCHUP: New York's backfield vs. Buffalo's D-line. The Jets' backfield has combined for 525 yards rushing over the past three games, and faces a defense which has allowed an average 151 yards rushing while yielding TDs rushing over its past five games.

KEY INJURIES: Jets LT George Fant was placed on IR earlier in the week, so Conor McDermott is expected to start in his place. ... DL Quinnen Williams is expected to play after missing last Sunday’s game while on the COVID-19 list. ... WR Jamison Crowder (calf) could return after missing two games. ... Rookie WR Elijah Moore has been on injured reserve for four games with a quadriceps injury, but coach Robert Saleh didn’t rule him out for the regular-season finale. ... Rookie RB Michael Carter was in the concussion protocol early in the week after being injured against Tampa Bay. ... Bills WR Emmanuel Sanders’ status remains uncertain after missing this past weekend’s game with a knee injury. Otherwise, Buffalo’s lineup is relatively healthy.

SERIES NOTES: The Bills have won three straight meetings and four of five, with the lone loss coming in a mean-nothing 2019 season finale in which Buffalo rested most of its starters. ... The Bills are 12-6 in their past 18 against New York. ... Buffalo’s 489 yards offense and 45 points scored in the win at the Jets in November are season highs. The 45 points scored also matched a series high for Buffalo set in a 45-14 win on Dec. 8, 1963.

STATS AND STUFF: The Jets are missing the playoffs for an 11th consecutive season to match the franchise’s longest drought. ... New York has rushed for at least 150 yards and held opponents to one or fewer sacks in consecutive games for the first time since 2016. The Jets ran for 150 last Sunday against Tampa Bay, which entered as the No. 3 overall run defense, and 273 against Jacksonville two weeks ago. ... Wilson leads rookie QBs with four TD runs. He needs two more to tie Geno Smith (2013) for the most by a Jets rookie. ... If he plays, Carter needs 55 yards from scrimmage to become the fourth Jets rookie RB to get 1,000, the first since Clark Gaines in 1976. ... WR Braxton Berrios leads the NFL with a 30.4-yard kick return average (among players with 20 returns) and is second in the league with a 13.4-yard punt return average (among players with 15 returns). He could become the 13th player since the 1970 merger to finish in the top two in both categories, and first since Andre Roberts did so with the Jets in 2018. Berrios is also the 19th wide receiver since 1970 to have two TD catches and two rushing TDs in the same season. ... The Jets have allowed a franchise-record 477 points this season, topping the 457 they allowed last season. ... LB C.J. Mosley has a career-high 155 tackles, ranking him fifth in the NFL. It’s the most for New York since Jonathan Vilma led the league with 173 in 2005. ... LB Quincy Williams has a career-high 102 tackles. His nine tackles for loss lead the Jets. ... The Bills have won three straight and will clinch their second consecutive AFC East title with a win or a New England loss to Miami. Buffalo hasn’t won consecutive division championships since a four-year run spanning 1988-91. ... With two TDs rushing last weekend, QB Josh Allen became the NFL’s first player with at least 100 touchdowns passing and 20 rushing through his first four seasons. ... Allen finished with a career-worst 17.0 passer rating after throwing a career-high-matching three interceptions against the Falcons. He has combined for 12 interceptions and two lost fumbles in his past nine outings. ... Allen’s career record is 20-17 when committing a turnover. ... Buffalo generated 19 first downs rushing against Atlanta, tied for third on the franchise list and the most since 21 in a 38-13 win over Washington on Nov. 3, 1996. ... Buffalo is 9-1 this season when scoring a TD rushing. ... With 221 catches, WR Stefon Diggs is three short of passing New England’s Wes Welker for most in the NFL by a player in his first two seasons with a team. ... Diggs had a season-high 162 yards receiving on eight catches and scored a TD against the Jets in November. ... Buffalo is 7-0 this season when scoring a TD on its game-opening drive. ... Rookie DE Greg Rousseau forced his first career fumble with a strip-sack of Atlanta’s Matt Ryan last week. ... Buffalo has allowed 11 TDs passing to match the fewest in a 16-game season, a team record first set in 1996.

___

More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL