The Jets went off for 318 rushing yards on the Bills in the first meeting. They are giving up 165.1 yards on the ground, which is the most in the league. They give up 4.8 per rush. That's Adrian Peterson's average over the past two seasons. That means every back they face turns into the 2008-2009 version of Adrian Peterson. Ok, that might be hyperbole, but the Bills are really bad at stopping the run. That's bad for them, considering the Jets are the number two rushing offense per game in football.
Surprisingly for a run defense so lousy, the Bills actually do not have a disaster tackle situation. Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams are a good pair. Stroud's not having a great year, but he's still a guy who commands a lot of attention. Williams always seems to hold his own in the middle of the line. Aaron Schobel has also been decent.
Let's get into where the Bills will have problems. It's on the right side, which is New York's strength. End Chris Kelsay does a poor job holding the point of attack and containing. The Bills have also had a nightmarish year in terms of linebacker injuries. Chris Draft wasn't playing anywhere at the start of this season. He's now starting outside for Buffalo and seeing a ton of time. The other outside linebacker, Bryan Scott, is a safety by trade and very undersized for the position at 219 pounds. Paul Posluszny in the middle is an emerging quality young player, but there is very little depth for the Bills.
The problem for the Bills in the first game was even their good players against the run got beaten. Nick Mangold and Brandon Moore had their best games of the year against Stroud and company on the line. If the Bills have any hope of slowing down the ground game, this will have to improve. The way this offensive line is playing, that's a tall order. Even if the Bills play this to a draw, they are weak in the back of the front seven. We'll see a lot of eight man fronts out of necessity. I don't think the Jets go for over 300 yards again, but I do think they should have another good performance on the ground.