ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills will be in the Monday night spotlight, with a marquee matchup to open a new season.
Aaron Rodgers is set to make his regular-season debut with the New York Jets after being acquired from Green Bay in April. The four-time NFL MVP spent 18 seasons with the Packers.
Buffalo is 8-4 against New York under coach Sean McDermott, including winning five of the past six meetings. This game marks the sixth time the teams play on “Monday Night Football” with Buffalo holding a 4-1 edge.
Bills backup safety Damar Hamlin is expected to play for the first time since going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the field on Jan. 2 at Cincinnati.
BUFFALO BILLS (14-4 last season) at NEW YORK JETS (7-10)
Monday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
OPENING LINE: Bills by 2.5, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
SERIES RECORD: Bills lead 69-57.
LAST MEETING: Bills beat Jets 20-12 on Dec. 11, 2022, in Orchard Park, NY.
BILLS OFFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (7), PASS (7), SCORING (2).
BILLS DEFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (5), PASS (15), SCORING (2).
JETS OFFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (25), PASS (15), SCORING (29).
JETS DEFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (16T), PASS (3), SCORING (4).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Bills even; Jets minus-7.
BILLS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB James Cook. The potent Josh Allen-led offense continues to look for ways to get the backfield more involved. Now it’s Cook’s turn to take over in the lead role in a game that features his older brother, Dalvin, on the other sideline. James Cook, a 2022 second-round pick out of Georgia, is regarded as more of a dual-threat running back in filling the starting job following Devin Singletary's departure in free agency.
JETS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Aaron Rodgers. Acquired from Green Bay in April after 18 seasons with the Packers, the four-time NFL MVP makes his regular-season debut with the Jets. Rodgers raised expectations for the franchise and the fan base when he said he expects to win in New York and pointed out during his introductory news conference that the Jets' only Super Bowl trophy from the 1968 season looks “lonely.” He gives the Jets their most accomplished quarterback since Brett Favre, who was acquired from Green Bay in 2008 — clearing the way for Rodgers to become the Packers' signal caller.
KEY MATCHUP: Bills secondary vs. Rodgers. S Micah Hyde is back in his starting role after missing most of last season with a neck injury and CB Tre’Davious White has had an entire offseason to regain his edge as Buffalo’s top pass-defender after being eased back in to close last season after missing nearly a year recovering from knee surgery. Hyde, White and starting safety Jordan Poyer have been together since 2017.
KEY INJURIES: The Bills are relatively healthy entering the season with the exception of top pass rusher Von Miller missing at least the first four games while on the physically unable to perform list after having knee surgery in December. ... Hyde’s status bears watching after a back issue flared up this week. ... Backup S Damar Hamlin is expected to play for the first time since going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the field on Jan. 2 at Cincinnati. ... Jets RBs Breece Hall (knee) and Cook (shoulder) will be worked into the offense early. Hall's promising rookie season was cut short when he tore the ACL in his left knee in Week 7. Cook had offseason shoulder surgery and just recently started practicing after signing with New York late in training camp. ... LT Duane Brown missed almost all of camp while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
SERIES NOTES: The Bills' .544 regular-season winning percentage against the Jets is their best against any AFC East opponent. ... Under Sean McDermott, Buffalo is 8-4 against New York, including winning five of the past six meetings. ... The previous time the teams faced each other on a Monday night was in 2014 when they played at Detroit's Ford Field because of a blizzard in Buffalo. The Bills won 38-3. ... The game marks the sixth time the teams play on “Monday Night Football,” with Buffalo holding a 4-1 edge.
STATS AND STUFF: The Bills are 4-2 in season openers under McDermott and 3-0 when opening against the Jets (2017, ’19 and ’20). ... The game marks Buffalo’s first season-opening Monday night appearance since a 25-24 loss at New England in 2009. ... McDermott enters his seventh season in Buffalo with a 62-35 record. He needs seven wins to move ahead of Lou Saban. Pro Football Hall of Famer Marv Levy holds the team record with 112 . ... Through his first five NFL seasons, Allen has combined for 176 passing and rushing touchdowns. That ranks fifth among QBs through their first six seasons, and one short of matching Russell Wilson. ...
Allen and the Bills' offense struggled in splitting its two games against the Jets last year. Allen went 34 of 61 for 352 yards with a TD pass, three TD runs and two interceptions. His 147 yards passing in a 20-12 win on Dec. 12 were a season low. ... WR Stefon Diggs had 108 catches for 1,429 yards and 11 TDs last season in becoming the NFL’s first player to top 100 catches and 1,200 yards in each of his first three seasons with a team. ... Hyde and Poyer have an opportunity to start their seventh season together in Buffalo’s secondary. Since the NFL merger, the only other safety tandem to start seven or more consecutive seasons is the Steelers' Carnell Lake and Darren Perry (1992-98). Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark played together for eight straight seasons (2006-2013), though Clark missed the the 2012 opener in Denver because he couldn’t play at altitude. ...
The Jets play their first game on “Monday Night Football” since 2020. They are 23-35 all time in games played on Monday night. ... New York is 0-2 in season openers under coach Robert Saleh. ... Rodgers played in 20 “Monday Night Football” games with the Packers and was 12-8 — but has won his past nine starts. That's the third-longest streak in MNF history, behind only Steve Young (10) and Ken Stabler (11). ... Rodgers has thrown an interception on just 1.4% of his passes, the lowest rate among any quarterback with at least 500 attempts since 1970 merger. ... Rodgers has 77 games with 300 or more yards passing, including 69 in the regular season to rank him sixth all time. But he hasn't had one since the 2021 season. ...
WR Garrett Wilson was the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year after setting franchise rookie records with 83 receptions and 1,103 yards receiving. ... WR Allen Lazard, who signed with New York in the offseason, set career highs last season in Green Bay with 60 catches and 788 yards receiving. ... RT Mekhi Becton is set to play his first regular-season game since the 2021 opener after suffering knee injuries the past two years. He'll make his regular-season NFL debut at RT after beginning his career at LT. ... CB Sauce Gardner was the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year after leading the NFL with 20 passes defensed. ... DL Quinnen Williams had a career-high 12 sacks last season and was selected an All-Pro for the first time. He signed a four-year, $96 million contract extension in July.
FANTASY TIP: Wilson should be a plug-in and play receiver every week after developing a quick rapport with Rodgers during the offseason and training camp.