Five Jets to keep an eye on when the Green & White return to MetLife for their first meeting of the season against their longtime AFL/NFL rivals, the Buffalo Bills:
RBs Michael Carter and Ty Johnson — QB Mike White vs. Cincinnati found Carter with 9 passes for 95 yards and Johnson with 5 passes for 75 yards and a TD, and the two backs on those 14 catches combined for 182 yards after the catch — the most YAC by Jets backs in a game in the past 20 years. Both will be instrumental again vs. the Bills' No. 1 third-down defense, allowing 30.3% conversions. Carter leads the Jets with 33 first downs and Johnson is tops with 10 third-down conversions. TJ also is averaging a robust 11.9 yards/catch with unofficially 10.5 yards after each catch, while MC is at 9.7 yards/catch and 10.6 YAC. Healthy numbers for the Buffalo LBs to be aware of.
WR Corey Davis — Robert Saleh announced Davis is cleared to return after missing 2 games with a hip injury, and the No. 1 WR will want to get in on the recently very productive passing game no matter who the passer is. White, back after missing most of the Colts game with a nerve contusion in his right arm, has shown he can distribute smartly, but what about the downfield pass game? White has had no completions longer than 26 yards, and the Bills defense leads the NFL in fewest completions of 20-plus yards. But Davis has gotten loose for a Jets-leading seven 20-plus catches and has also forced opponents into 3 pass interference penalties. The Bills are a good challenge for Davis, but he and the Jets receivers likewise could test the league's No. 1 pass defense.
LB C.J. Mosley — Mosley is a Jet to watch every week, but he's got a special place vs. Josh Allen. For one thing, Allen is has the third-highest rushing average among NFL QBs this season at 5.6 yards/carry, so Mosley and the run defense, burned by Indy, will have to be ready not only for Devin Singletary to gallop but for Allen to tuck and run. Then in C.J.'s first game as a Jet, the 2019 opener, he had a pick-six vs. Allen and recovered a center-snap fumble. And that's been Allen's modus operandi as a pro — directing the Bills to victories but occasionally turning the ball over. He's led 7 TD drives in his 5 career games vs. the Jets but also has turned the ball over 9 times. And this year he's thrown 5 picks and lost 2 fumbles. Mosley and the Jets' turnover-starved teammates could use a few tasty takeaways.
S Ashtyn Davis — With Marcus Maye sidelined the rest of the way from his Achilles injury, Davis and Sharrod Neasman move into the deep middle and into the scopes of Josh Allen, his wideouts and the Bills' offensive planners. Davis showed he could pry the ball loose from Colts pass-catchers with 2 forced fumbles in a 3-play span on TNF. The Jets didn't recover either but that trend is promising. Yet Davis now assumes some of Maye's duties and will be tasked with keeping the lids on longballs intended for WRs Stefon Diggs and Emmanuel Sanders and TE Dawson Knox, if his hand injury has improved. No time like the present for the second-year safety to let his athleticism and football savvy take center stage.
