New York Post, Sunday, October 25, 2020
nypost.com
1
MARQUEE MATCHUP
Bills quarterback Josh Allen (below)vs. Jets defensive line
Allen killed the Jets with his legs when they met inWeek 1.
He ran the ball 14 times for57 yards and a touchdowns.
He has not had as much success running since, but the
Jets are going to have to watch out for
him taking off and running through their
defense. It is not easy to bring down the
6-foot-5,237-pound quarterback.
“You’ve got to tackle the guy whenyou
get your chances,” linebacker Jordan
Jenkins said. “Iwas one of the guys
who let one slip.You’ve got to
treat this guy like you’re tackling
a tight end in the open field. The
problem isa lot of guys go after
him and they getready to tackle
him like a quarterback. He’sa
stockier guy. He’sa bigger guy.
... You’ve got to come knowing
he’s not going to go down easy.”
Allen has had an MVP-caliber
season so far. He has faltered
a bit in thepast two weeks,
against the Titans and Chiefs,
but he will be trying to get
back on track against the
dismal Jets.4 DOWNS
Costello’skeys
to the game:BRIAN COSTELLO’S GANG GREEN GAME PLAN
We have not even hit the
halfway point on the Jets’
season, and already the
coach-watch is on, fans
are dreaming about the
No. 1 pick in next spring’s
draft, and there is debate
about whether this is one of thewo rst
teams in NFL history.
Other than that, things are going
swimmingly.
This season can’t end soon enough
for the Jets, but they have 10 more
games. They will take the field at MetLife
Stadium on Sunday against the Bills, still
searching for that first win.At 0-6, it feels
hopeless, but the Jets believe they can
show improvement as they get healthier.
Quarterback Sam Darnoldreturns
after missing two games witha shoulder
injury. He will be joinedby a pair of
injuredrookies, offensive tackle Mekhi
Becton (shoulder) and widereceiver
Denzel Mims (hamstrings), who will be
playing his first NFL game.
The Bills (4-2) have lost two straight
and will be looking at this asa “get right”
game. The Jets must guard against trying
to do too much as they desperately try to
win a game.
“You’re talking about it all the time asfar as staying in the moment, staying
present, focus on whatwe’re doing, how
we’re getting better today, ” coachAdam
Gase said. “You know whenwe get closer
to game day, its you’re looking for the
guys to do their job,you’re looking for 11
guys working together,you’re not looking
for the out of body experience of, ‘Hey,
I’m going to do this and that’s going to
meanwe’re going to geta touchdown or
turnover or causea sack.’ Whatever it
is, you’re just trying to get everybody to
do their job, and whenyou do that, then
that givesyou the best opportunity to put
yourself in position to wina game in the
fourth quarter.”
Gase enters this game clinging to
his job. The Jets not only have been
bad this season, they also have been
noncompetitive. Gase’s offense has
scored six touchdowns in six games.
At some point, team CEO Christopher
Johnson is going to have seenenough
and make a change. Gase needs his team
to show some signs of life on Sunday to
make the case he deserves tokeep his
job.
Getting Darnoldback should help. The
Jets are 0-5 without Darnold under Gase
and 7-10 with him.
[email protected]Reinforcements may
make 0 impact on 0-6
JETSGAMEDAY
WEEK 7: VS. BILLS
SAM’S SECOND SEASON:Quarterback
Sam Darnoldgets torestart his
season, ina way, on Sunday. He
missed thepast two games witha
sprained right shoulder. He is still
experiencingpain, but will play
through it (probably with help from
pain killers).
Darnold’s third season has not
gone thewayhe hoped. He has
three touchdownpasses and four
interceptions, and is being askedquestions about the team drafting
Trevor Lawrenceto replace him.
“I don’t think I’ve playe d well
enough to win,” Darnold said.
“That’s just shooting straight.We
haven’t won any gamesyet, so
obviously, I haven’t played well
enough.”
Darnold has 10 games left to
impress general managerJoe
Douglasand convince him he is the
future of the franchise.
1 P.M. | TV: CBS| RADIO: ESPN (98.7 FM) | LINE: JETS +10| O/U: 45.5COSTELLO’S
CALLI keep waiting for
the Jets to be more
competitive.I think
it will happen this
week. Sam Darnold
returns with more
healthy bodies
around him. They’ll
keep it close, but
still lose.BILLS 26,
JETS 21
LITTLELITTLELITTLE
I
T COULD simply be that Sam Darnold
will not be asgood asJosh Allen.But we
may also bewitnessingfurtherproof of
an inalienable truth that if the franchise
that begs you to be its long-lost franchise
quarterback wrapsyou in a cocoon of com-
petence, you will have a better chance to
succeed than if that fran -
chiseleaves you on your
own and seeingghosts.
Allen(67.1 completion
perce ntag e, 16 to uchdowns,
four inter ceptions, 37-for-
143 rushing with three
TDs) hastaken a Lambeau
Leapin his third season
while hispal Darnold (59.4 completion per-
centag e, three TDs,four INTs,14-117-1 rush-
ing) haslandedin quicksand, and anex ami-
nationof ho w the Bills(4 -2 ) and theWo rs t
Team inFootball (0-6) have supported and
developed eachreveals why.
Jets fans can only pray Trev or Lawrence
doesnot view this asa cautionarytale,
should he be the potof gold at the end ofan rainbow following an 0-16 storm.
Darnold hasbeen setback to a degree by
injuriesand mono, bu t ther e ar e mor e sig -
nificantreasonswhy his growth hasbeen
stunted.
The won-lostrecord:
Allen:19-14; Darnold: 11-19.
Billsowner Terry Pegula
got head co ach right with
SeanMc Dermott in 2017 ;
Jets ownerChristopher
Johnsongot Adam Gase
wrong in2019.
That’s huge.
Pegula, following the
dysfunctional firingof
former general manager Doug Whaley
after the 2017draf t (in otherwords, hewas
Maccagnan’d), got it rightwhen he hired
GM BrandonBeane.
Johnsongot it rightwhen he hired GM Joe
Douglas,ev en though it came after former
GM Mike Maccagnan had draf ted Darnold
in 2018then signedLe’V eon Bell in 2019free
agen cy, muchto Gase’s chagrin.Steve SerbySte Serb
Getty ImagesSam
Darnold
Adam
Gase
Le’Veon
Bel
Quincy
Enunwa
AP (4); Corey Sipkin; Getty Images