ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Jets and Bills met in Week 1 both thinking Super Bowl.
Ten weeks later, they meet again and both are just trying to keep their seasons alive.
The Jets (4-5) and Bills (5-5) enter this game in the midst of offensive struggles.
They both need a win in this game to boost their chances in the AFC playoff race.
Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be the Jets’ savior this season but he went down on the fourth play against the Bills in the opener.
Zach Wilson has struggled to get the Jets into the end zone as Rodgers’ replacement.
The Jets have just eight offensive touchdowns in nine games and they have not scored one in 36 possessions, which spans over their last 11 quarters and an overtime period.
“We need to stop with the self-inflicted wounds,” Wilson said. “Obviously, we’ve said that a million times. We just need to be better.”
The struggles led to a players-only meeting on Tuesday for the offensive players. The Jets committed seven penalties on offense last week, one that wiped a touchdown off the board and several others that negated big plays. They have to wipe those out to have any success.
The Jets are hoping they found the answers in that players-only meeting.
“We definitely needed it,” left tackle Mekhi Becton said. “It was everybody just looking in the mirror and taking accountability instead of finger-pointing. Now we’ve got to figure out what we need to do to keep this thing going.”
In Buffalo, the reeling Bills have lost four of their last six games and quarterback Josh Allen leads the NFL in turnovers.
That led to the Bills firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey this week and replacing him with Joe Brady.
“It’s not like it’s broken,” Allen said. “We’re not a broken offense. We’re not a broken team.”
The AFC is a tight race right now and the AFC East remains within reach for both of these teams, with the Dolphins entering the week at 6-3.
Both teams need this one.
For the Jets, they need to start winning games if they want a shot at getting a return from Rodgers.
“The pressure is to keep it afloat just to keep it afloat,” coach Robert Saleh said. “It’s not for any one individual. It’s not for any possibility. It’s because we’re competitors and we want to win football games. And I think Aaron’s just icing on the cake.”
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