ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Monday night will feature two teams starting the season in East Rutherford, N.J., who have hopes of ending the season in Las Vegas, the site of Super Bowl LVIII.
The Buffalo Bills have reached the AFC Divisional round each of the last two seasons and are looking to get over the hump in Josh Allen's sixth year in the league.
"It's about moving towards the season and setting our goals of what we want to do," Allen said at the start of training camp. "We want to bring a Lombardi trophy here come February."
Winning a Lombardi trophy is also why the newest character in this divisional rivalry is wearing Jets' green.
Aaron Rodgers, the future Hall of Fame quarterback and Super Bowl XLV champion, will suit up for a team other than the Green Bay Packers for the first time in an NFL career entering its 19th season. Rodgers landed in New York via trade this past offseason, and when speaking about the resolve of the team to reporters this week, conveyed a belief in the roster of his new team.
"I don't think I need the resolve to be strengthened at all," Rodgers said. "I think there's a part of that speaking things into existence ... the manifestation ... and the other part is a realistic look at the locker room ... knowing that there's anywhere from six to 12 teams every year that can probably do it, and that we're one of those six to 12 teams."
So Monday night at MetLife Stadium will provide a good look for both Super Bowl hopefuls of how on track they are toward reaching that ultimate goal.
It's Sean McDermott's Bills who enter as 2.5-point favorites after splitting the season series last year. New York held Buffalo to 37 total points across the two matchups, and won the first of last year's meetings, 20-17, at MetLife, before Buffalo won the return matchup 20-12 in Orchard Park.
Buffalo will be tasked with solving a Jets' defense that stymied the Bills' offense, holding them 123 yards below their season average.
While many of the starters return, mainly Allen along with pass catchers Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis and Dawson Knox, a few new faces look to help take Buffalo to the next level.
First round pick Dalton Kincaid provides the Bills with a new weapon at tight end, while Connor McGovern and rookie O'Cyrus Torrence take the two guard stops on an offensive line looking to hold up against a talented Jets' defensive front anchored by first-team All-Pro selection Quinnen Williams (12 sacks in 2022). Running back James Cook enters his second year, but first as the featured back with fellow RBs Damien Harris and Latavius Murray joining the room, while Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty look to bolster the slot receiver spot.
The passing game features strength vs. strength, as the Jets secondary led by the team's other first-team All-Pro selection, second-year cornerback Sauce Gardner. Joined by DJ Reed at the other corner spot, the Jets ranked third in the NFL last season in pass defense.
"It's going to come down to fundamentals and execution," Diggs said. "They've got a hell of a defense and we've got pretty much the same guys on offense. A couple of new wrinkles...a couple of new pieces... a couple of new weapons to be more specific. It's going to come down to execution. We've got to execute at a high level."
On the other side of the ball, Rodgers looks to be the difference for Robert Salah's Jets team that went 7-10, and finished fourth-worst in scoring offense (17.4 points per game) with Zach Wilson and Mike White at quarterback.
"Having a first ballot hall of famer take his first real snaps for a team... I know they're excited for that," Josh Allen said. "That's why we need to rely on our captains leadership and experience to make sure that we're staying calm and we're ready and focused to play a game.
Rodgers is joined in the backfield by Dalvin Cook, James Cook's older brother and former Minnesota Viking who signed with New York in August, and second year back Breece Hall, who impressed as a rookie before suffering a torn ACL last October in Denver.
Hall was listed as questionable in Saturday's final injury report, carrying the same designation as offensive linemen Mekhi Becton (knee/illness) and Duane Brown (shoulder). However, all three were listed as full participants, a positive sign for their status on Monday.
Brown and Becton will form part of an offensive line that will look to protect Rodgers better than it did Mike White in the last meeting between the two teams, as the Bills sacked White four times in Buffalo's 20-12 win last December.
Even without Von Miller, who is out for the first four weeks as he returns from a torn ACL, the Bills will look players like Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, and free-agent signing Leonard Floyd, among others, to get pressure on Rodgers and make him uncomfortable in his Jets' debut.
"It's everything. It's extremely important. Our guys, the men on the defensive line, they embrace that. They not only accept it, but they embrace that challenge, and they have a lot of confidence in their ability to be tone setters in that regard," said Eric Washington, Bills' defensive line coach. "I'm expecting them to go out and do just that. No disrespect to who we're playing, but it's really about us, and so I'm looking forward to watching them bring all of our goals and values and everything that we've worked on to fruition."
Two of the key position battles for the Bills' came in the back seven, as Terrel Bernard will get the start at middle linebacker while Christian Benford will get the start at cornerback opposite of Tre'Davious White. Elsewhere in the Bills' secondary, Micah Hyde (back) was a full participant Saturday after being limited on Wednesday. The Buffalo defensive backs will look to limit a Jets pass catching group highlighted by second-year receiver Garrett Wilson. Wilson was last year's AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after totaling 83 catches for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns.
With talent on both sides of the ball for both teams, Monday night figures to be a competitive battle for two teams fighting to win a loaded AFC East, a division the Bills have won three seasons in a row.
"It's the first game of the year. The wait is over, so looking forward to getting out there," said Bills' running Latavius Murray. "All the work we put in, putting it on display and getting that first win... Anywhere that I've been, that's been the first goal, winning the division, and they obviously stand in the way of that. It being the first game makes it a big game, but yeah, definitely some added motivation there with it being a division opponent, with it being a goal in mind."
The game will also carry extra meaning because of the night and area in which it will be played. Monday will be the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, with the Jets paying tribute to fallen heroes and first responders.
"It'll be pretty special to memorialize the 9/11 situation and remember all the people that gave their lives for this country," said McDermott. "So to be on the field in New York City on 9/11 I think is special regardless of it's Monday Night [Football], whenever it is, and so we're very grateful for that opportunity."