How the Jets Are Preparing to Stop Josh Allen and the Bills' Offense
Just because Josh Allen and the Bills lost to the Jaguars last week doesn't mean the Jets are taking Sunday's matchup with Buffalo lightly.
New York will be lining up on defense at MetLife Stadium against one of the best young quarterbacks in the National Football League, the leader of an offense that averages 29.4 points per game this season (the fourth-highest total in football)
Meanwhile, the Jets have allowed 408.1 yards and 31.4 points per game entering play in Week 10, both the worst marks in the NFL.
So, how does the league's worst defense contain one of the best offensive units and their star quarterback?
"Make them one dimensional," Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich told reporters this week. "We have to play the run well. We have to make the play action not as valid. When we play the run really, really well, it creates longer third downs, longer second downs, where we have an opportunity to pressure and play more coverage-based defenses where we can manipulate the backend a little bit, help with the matchups, hopefully cause a little bit of confusion.
"But that’s it. It’s an extremely tough opponent in that way because they don’t have a true weakness. They have good scheme, good players and when it’s clicking for them, they’re as tough as it gets."
Ulbrich has a point. Buffalo has their star quarterback, but the weapons around him have excelled this year as well. Wideouts Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley each have more than 400 receiving yards while running back Devin Singletary leads the way with 355 yards on the ground.
That's where this matchup get even trickier. Allen has a booming arm, throwing for 2,236 yards over eight games (with 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions), but he's also mobile. The fourth-year quarterback has already rushed for 319 yards this season, on pace to blow past his career high in that category.
Allen's ability to scramble and beat a defense with his feet is something that head coach Robert Saleh is taking into consideration with his defensive game plan.
"Especially a guy who can escape the pocket and get off schedule and now you’ve got the backend in one-on-one’s all over the place with one high safety," Saleh explained. "And they’ve got playmakers all over the football field. So, it is a cat and mouse game in terms of trying to change looks for Josh and trying to change coverages and be multiple so he can’t just tee off on you. There’s a chess match in there and it’s going to be a challenge, but the biggest challenge is just trying our best to keep him in the pocket, so we don’t have to get to that in the first place."
Last week against Jacksonville was Allen's worst game of the season. He didn't have a touchdown pass, was picked off twice, he fumbled once and was sacked four times. Buffalo scored only six points in the loss, their third of the year.
Pressure on Allen in the pocket can be New York's ticket to another upset victory. The problem is, after sacking Ryan Tannehill seven times in their win over Tennessee, the Jets have just five sacks in four games since.
Ulbrich explained that he's noticed more of a concerted effort from opponents to protect their quarterback since the Titans game. From manipulated protection schemes to simply placing more bodies in the box on the line of scrimmage, it's been tougher for New York's defensive line to make their presence felt.
"They look at our defense and say our defensive line, especially our interior defensive line, is our strength," he said. "They’re not going to let that part of our defense beat them. So, it’s definitely changed, but it’s something we have to overcome. Whether that’s calls, whether it’s the way that we rush them, blitz them, pressure them. We've got to find a way still."
If the Jets can break through this week, while simultaneously keeping a lid on Allen's mobility, there's a good chance they can keep their offense—manned by magic Mike White for a third straight week—in the game. Easier said than done, but it starts with the battle in the trenches, getting to No. 17 before he can shine.
"He’s a special young man because he can play quarterback and by that, I mean get the ball where it needs to go quickly, and then he can play off schedule," Saleh added. "So the challenge in playing Josh is the fact that you have to defend two plays in one. There’s a play in timing and then there’s Josh Allen scrambling around. We have to be great up front with regards to our rush lanes and keeping him in the pocket. And we have to be great in the back end with regards to plaster and staying connected to our coverage and understand that you’re not defending three plays, you’re not defending three seconds, you’re defending upwards around 10. You have to strain."
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