Throughout the season, NewYorkJets.com will provide a Stock Report focusing on the Jets' upcoming matchup.
This week's report features players and/or themes that are trending before the Green & White take on the Bills in Buffalo on Sunday afternoon.
đ C Joe Tippmann
Jets C Joe Tippmann has anchored an offensive line that has improved its play over the last several weeks. Tippmann had an 82.4 Pro Football Focus grade in Week 16, the second-best mark among all centers. The second-year player out of Wisconsin has a 75.7 grade this season, which ranks fifth.
"I thought, especially these last two weeks, it's been very good, much improved," interim HC Jeff Ulbrich said of the O-line as a whole. "Going against Jacksonville, one of the better D-lines in the NFL, especially from an edge standpoint and played extremely well that day. Then I felt like in the Rams game, Aaron [Rodgers] was protected for most of the day and there was a nice pocket. When he's got a nice pocket, he goes to work, so we got to keep improving our offensive line play, but I've definitely felt like as of late it is trending in the right direction."
đ Bills RB James Cook
Bills RB James Cook, who co-leads the NFL with 16 total touchdowns this season, ran for 100 yards and 1 touchdown on 11 carries against the Patriots in Week 16.
Cook, who ran for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns in Week 15, is the first Bills player to have at least 100 rushing yards in back-to-back games since QB Josh Allen in 2018 and the first Bills RB since LeSean McCoy in 2016.
The second-round running back in 2022 out of Georgia did not play against the Jets in Week 6. Rookie RB Ray Davis, however, ran for 97 yards on 20 carries and the Bills totaled 149 rushing yards.
đ Weather Forecast
Coming off the coldest Jets home game since the 2009 season, the Green & White will travel to Orchard Park, NY, where it was 14 degrees at kickoff last Sunday in the Bills-Patriots game. Buffalo's last home game before Sunday's win over New England was in Week 13 when it played San Francisco in snow showers and a wind chill of 18 degrees.
Sunday's forecast for Jets-Bills has a low of 37 degrees and a high of 52 with a high probability of rain. If the weather forces the Green & White to turn to its ground game against Buffalo, the Jets will likely county on RB Breece Hall, who had success against Buffalo's defense in Week 6. Hall ran for a season-high 113 yards on 18 carries (6.3 avg) and added 5 receptions for 56 yards.
đ Jets O-Line Health
Jets rookie LT Olu Fashanu was placed on injured reserve earlier this week with a foot injury he sustained against the Rams in Week 16. Third-year OL Max Mitchell replaced Fashanu in the fourth quarter and either Mitchell or second-year T Carter Warren will start at left tackle against the Bills.
"Those two guys will battle it out this week" IHC Jeff Ulbrich said.
The Jets' tackles, whether it's Mitchell or Warren, will have to block a surging Von Miller. Miller, the Bills' three-time first-team All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler, generated a team-high 5 pressures on 19 pass rushes (26.3%) last Sunday in their win over the Patriots with 3 within 2.5 seconds.
Miller averaged 0.52 seconds pass rush get-off against New England, the third-quickest average get-off in a game this season.
