New York Jets (+4.5) at Buffalo Bills
It’s just too easy to keep picking against the Jets. They do almost everything wrong on and off the football field – it’s debatable whether their bottom-five scoring defense and offense are more embarrassing than their ‘snap decision’ to trade for Percy Harvin immediately following a nationally televised loss – and they have become a laughing stock throughout the football-watching nation. Then, just as they were pronounced dead on the spot, they beat the Steelers and headed off into a bye week.
Have they turned a corner? Absolutely not. In fact, the Jets needed nearly every single break they could have received in order to hold off the Steelers in the end. They remain a team in shambles and now head to Buffalo to face a Bills franchise desperately trying to avoid yet another late-season disappointment.
Rex Ryan holds a 7-4 record against the Bills in his tenure as head coach of the New York Jets, however, in these eleven games, only four were decided by one possession. It has certainly been a back-and-forth series, with the Bills now owning a 3-1 edge in their last four games, but the fact that so few have actually been competitive is somewhat of a surprise. But what would be more of a shock: the 5-5 Bills suddenly avoiding what has historically been the worse half of their season – now a combined 7-21 from Week 9 of all seasons since 2011 – or the Jets avoiding a season-series sweep against Buffalo? Don’t forget, even without Percy Harvin on the roster before the season began, many people actually thought the Jets would be competitive this year. Wrong as they were, 2-9 would certainly not have crossed too many people’s minds.
With an extra week of preparation, the Jets win their second-straight game in an uncharacteristic close matchup with the Bills. New York wins by a field goal and beats the spread.
