Week 13 Preview: Buffalo Bills Host New York Jets In Toronto

This Thursday, the 4-7 Buffalo Bills travel to Toronto to play a home game against AFC East rival 5-6 New York Jets. This game taps in to the Bills large regional drawing area, and gives the fans that commute down from Canada, a chance to see a NFL game in their own backyard.

It will be interesting to see how loud the crowd is and who they are really rooting for. If the Bills win this game, they will then be tied with the Jets at 5-7.

Sitting there at 5-7 is a surreal place to be in the standings. Realistically, you are almost guaranteed to be eliminated from the playoffs, but at the same time, you have won too many games to be looking forward to having a top draft choice next spring. 

Just stuck in a place you hate to have your team in. But if the Bills are at 5-7 you would conclude that they are running on automatic pilot for their fourth consecutive season of 7-9 finishes. This is a drill that the Bills team and fans know all too well.

Ugh. I would prefer 8-8 of course, or even 6-10, just to avoid one more year of 7-9 and to break that string. The tag of four straight 7-9 finishes would be printed to nausea. I would be dreading the 2010 season as a result already.

Since both teams played on Sunday, this game will be a test for both first year head coaches - Perry Fewell of the Bills, and Rex Ryan of the Jets, to get a game plan orchestrated quickly and get the team organized and ready to play in a short week for preparation.

The game is sold out and Toronto officials are probably relieved to see a different Bills team than the one that showed up for the first ten weeks of the season. Under interim coach Fewell, the Bills are putting up points on the scoreboard and long range touchdown passes of 98 and 51 yards from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Terrell Owens help to create excitement.

The Jets trail Jacksonville in the chase for the final AFC East Wildcard spot, so they can't afford to lose to Buffalo again. The Bills defeated the Jets back in week six 16 - 13, which broke the Bills long streak of losses against AFC East teams.

That game resulted in the Bills defense coming up with six interceptions, five off of then-rookie-phenom Mark Sanchez. It also marked a coming-out party for Bills rookie Jairus Byrd, who exposed Sanchez as a not-quite-ready-for-prime-time quarterback by coming up with two picks that day.

What Have The Jets Done To Control Sanchez's Interceptions?

Sanchez has already thrown 17 interceptions, which is fourth highest total in the NFL. So, the Jets have gone to a new coding system that serves as a trigger-warning-mechanism for Sanchez, so he knows how much risk is involved with every pass play that is called.

Closer to his own end zone he is reminded to use extreme caution, passing only if the receiver is wide open. As they cross midfield and approach the enemy end zone, he is given a little more freedom to be looser with his throws. That is the current modus operandi.

The new system might be working, as he only threw one interception last week. The Bills feasted on Chad Henne last Sunday, and are probably looking forward to facing the rookie for the second time.

Another way that the Jets are minimizing Sanchez's interceptions is by altering their offensive schemes. They are running the ball more and throwing it less. Last week, as an example, they ran it 39 times and only passed it 18 times.

Both Teams Have A Strong Secondary

The Jets pass defense is number two in the NFL, giving up only 176 passing yards a game, while the Bills are seventh overall, giving up 198 yards a game. The Bills are second in the NFL with 21 interceptions, while the Jets have 11 picks.

The Jets continue to promote Darrelle Revis as NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Revis has been a standout this year, and it will be entertaining game to see if the Bills new gunslinger Ryan Fitzpatrick is able to dial up any long passes to either Lee Evans or Terrell Owens against the Jets secondary.

Revis doubled his interception total last Sunday by picking off Jake Delhomme twice, returning one of them for a touchdown. Kerry Rhodes also had two picks in the same game.

Likewise, the Bills secondary is featuring their own star, Jairus Byrd. Byrd, has been slowed recently by a groin injury, and has now gone two straight games without a pick. He is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions at eight, with Darren Sharper of the Saints.

It will be curious to see how healthy he is on the artificial turf in Toronto, playing under the dome. You would like to see him be at full strength and using his instincts to fly all around the field anytime Sanchez is forced to put the ball up in the air.

For the Bills, their secondary had strong games turned in last week by safeties Donte Whitner, who led the team with ten tackles, and George Wilson, who is now the leading tackler on the Bills this season. As a result, you may see less of Byrd if he is still gimpy.

This is one of the biggest problems with the Bills, in that the leading tackler last week, in addition to the leading tackler for the season are both safeties. That means your front seven is not doing a good enough job at stopping the rusher at or near the line of scrimmage.

Getting in to the second wave of your defense repeatedly is never a good thing.

Whitner is finally starting to look healthy after being banged up with various injuries. In addition, a very strong game was turned in by Drayton Florence last week, as he came up with his own pick and was in on five tackles.

Terrance McGee has missed the past two games, but hopes to be back for this one. The Bills defense is continuing to get healthy, week by week, as best can be expected noting that they have already lost Leodis McKelvin, Kawika Mithcell and Keith Ellison for the season.

What Keys Will This Game Boil Down To?

The Jets offer up a top ten running back in Thomas Jones. His 959 yards so far is good for sixth place in the NFL. He probably cracks the 1000 yard mark in this game. The Bills porous rushing defense contained Maurice Jones-Drew two weeks ago, but allowed Ricky Williams to crack the 100 yard barrier last week.

Expect to hear Thomas Jones name called throughout the game as the Jets will be handing it off to him frequently.

If the Bills are able to stack the box against Jones, and limit his yardage on first and second downs, they will force the Jets in to third-and-long scenarios. That is when they stand a great chance to literally pick up where they left off, by grabbing some more of Sanchez's throws.

The Bills will have to be committed to plugging the lanes and staying home on defense, to prevent Jones from cutting back against the grain, something the defense has been prone to allowing.

For all of their flaws, turning the ball over is something the Bills defense specializes in, as they lead the AFC in creating turnovers with 25 so far. If they can create some more turnovers, look for the new look Bills offense to capitalize quickly, like they did last Sunday against Miami.

For the Jets, they will attempt to pressure Fitzgerald and take advantage of the Bills young offensive lineman. New Bills guard Kendall Simmons has a short practice week to try to improve on his debut last week, and to continue to work with the other lineman to establish some sort of continuity.

It won't be easy, as Demetrius Bell is still not able to practice. Having already lost Brad Butler and Eric Wood for the season, the Bills will need to get solid pass protection from Jamon Meredith, Andy Levitre and Jonathan Scott if they plan to give Fitzpatrick any time to get the ball down the field to Evans and Owens.

Fitzpatrick was sacked six times last Sunday, but as we learned, he is a threat to run the ball. He did account for 50 yards on scrambles, one of which was a 31 yard touchdown, the longest run by a Bills quarterback for a score in team history.

Just the week before, Terrell Owens and Fitzpatrick hooked up for the 98 yard pass play, the longest touchdown pass in team history. I wonder if the Bills can set a new record for three weeks in a row?

If this contest boils down to a close game decided by a field goal, both kickers have now been able to connect from at least 55 yards out - the Jet's Feely has nailed a 55 yarder, while the Bill's Lindell hit the dramatic 56 yarder last Sunday against the Dolphins.

Playing under the dome in Toronto, no telling how long a kick we might see at the end of the half, or end of the game, but a 60 yard attempt would not be out of the question.

What Has Changed Since The Last Time These Teams Met?

For the Jets, not a ton. They still feature Jones, and less Sanchez. One of their defensive stalwarts, Kris Jenkins, went down for the year against the Bills. The Jets leading tackler is linebacker David Harris.

Some of the early season buzz and success had lifted coach Ryan and quarterback Sanchez to epic levels, but the glitz and glamor has started to wear off on each of their stars.

For the Bills, so much has changed I hardly know where to begin. Under Perry Fewell, the Bills are demonstrating more swagger and confidence in their play. They show more emotion and that comes directly from Fewell.

Fitzpatrick is running the show on offense and Trent Edwards has been relegated to the bench. He has company, as Marshawn Lynch has lost the starting running back role to Freddy Jackson, due to less than inspired play.

The Bills are not afraid to stretch the field long, taking advantage of their pair of talented deep ball threats in Evans and Owens. Playing under the dome means no trouble from the elements, so I expect to see an aerial show, provided that Fitzpatrick is allowed to stand erect and throw.

I also expect to see lots of deep meaningful conversations taking place as Revis and Owens will be looking to one-up each other the whole game. That match up alone is worth turning in for, and with a national audience on top of it, you know both of them will be keyed up to establish some sort of dominance over their counterpart.

Bills Bits

No other earth-shattering news regarding the Bills head coach search since I ran my Thanksgiving Day Rumor Special article, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/297359-buffalo-bills-head-coach-search-merry-go-round-rumor-guide. Bill Cowher has apparently been approached by the Bears, and if he does listen to their pitch, you can consider that as a direct slap in the face to Bills owner Ralph Wilson and to the team's fans.

Bills have added a new member to their practice squad this week by signing a defensive tackle Rashaad Duncan, who played in college at the University of Pittsburgh.

There were no new injuries from last week's game, (for once), so the only players that seem to be either questionable or out for this week are: Demetrius Bell, Ashton Youboty, John McCargo, and Todd Johnson.

As competitive as the Bills team appears to be now under Fewell, his focus and mission is to win games for the Bills. Bills fans that were hoping to see extended game action for some of the newer or unproven Bills players down the stretch may have to cross that off of their Christmas wish list.

Giving players extended looks in games, and playing to win are not necessarily agendas that mesh well with each other. As a result, James Hardy, Steve Johnson, Nic Harris, Ashlee Palmer, Cary Harris and Brian Brohm sightings may be very few and far between for the duration of the season.