Throughout the regular season, NewYorkJets.com reporters Eric Allen, Randy Lange, Susanna Weir and Jack Bell will give their responses to a series of questions regarding the Jets.
Today's question:
What are your thoughts on the Justin Fields – Josh Allen QB Matchup in Week 2?
EA: This is a fascinating QB matchup. Justin Fields and Josh Allen were terrific in Week 1, and I have no reason to believe they both won't be good again in Week 2. Fields, who had his second career game with 200-plus pass yards, 3-plus TDs and 0 giveaways against the Steelers, has now totaled 13 TDs against 1 INT since the start of the 2024 season. He is dual threat who protects the football and OC Tanner Engstrand used him effectively in both the pass and the run games. Fields showed great command throughout and he can help out the Jets' defense with long, ball-sustaining drives against a Bills defense that was repeatedly gashed on the ground against the Ravens. While Allen will get his points, the Jets have a front 4 that can cause problems rushing from the outside and the interior. Allen, the reigning MVP, has dramatically improved his ball security over the years, but the Jets need to emphasize strip-sacks on rush attempts and there will be a couple of plays to be made in the secondary because Allen remains a gunslinger. While the Bills have scored 30-plus points in 10 of their last 11 regular-season games that Allen has had one or more pass attempt, the Jets and Fields can keep that to a more manageable number just by running their offense and executing in the red zone. If the Jets win the takeaway battle, we could see some MetLife magic.
RL: I hope it's the start of a "long-running" AFC East feud. Needless to say, both QBs want to throw the ball effectively, and both did in their Week 1 barnburners. But the excitement comes when both tuck the ball in and take off. We could go on and on with the trivia and factoids for both dynamos, but consider these nuggets. Josh Allen ran for 2 TDs in the Bills' 41-40 win over the Ravens to give him 67 career rush TDs, breaking his tie for the most in Buffalo franchise history with RB Thurman Thomas, and now needs 9 to set the rush-TD record by an NFL QB. Justin Fields, even with his own 2 rush scores in the 34-32 loss to Pittsburgh, is at 21 for his career, off Allen's paydirt pace, but Fields still did some things in his first game as Jets QB that brought us back to the first year of the franchise in 1960. Also since 2018, the NFL's top 3 QB rushing averages (min. 200 carries) do not include Allen (5.30) but do list Lamar Jackson (6.12), Kyler Murray (6.00) and Fields (5.95). No matter how you slice it, these two quarterbacks are capable of running wild in the Meadowlands on Sunday.
JB: QB Justin Fields will need to author another strong performance on offense if the Jets (0-1) are to end their 3-game losing streak against the five-time defending AFC East champion Buffalo Bills (1-0). Sunday's game at MetLife Stadium will be the 130th meeting of these two teams since the founding of the AFL in 1960. The times and the faces have changed, but the intensity of the rivalry has endured for 65 years. Last week Fields, who joined the Green & White in free agency, gave a preview of what he's capable of. Against Pittsburgh, No. 7 ran for 2 TDs and passed for a third (33 yards to WR Garrett Wilson) while scampering for 48 yards on 12 carries. He was a tidy 16-of-22 passing for 218 yards (a 119.1 rating). "I thought Justin took what the defense gave him," OC Tanner Engstrand said. He added: "His leadership showed on the field and in the huddle." The Jets' defense will be tasked with trying to contain the diabolically talented Buffalo QB Josh Allen. Allen, who has a 9-4 career record against the Jets in 13 starts (3-0 since 2023), practically willed the Bills to victory last week when the team scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Ravens by a point. He rushed for 30 yards and was 33-of-46 passing for 394 yards and 2 TDs.
SW: Justin Fields and Josh Allen led their offenses in high-scoring games in Week 1, so there's reason to believe Sunday's matchup could be another shootout. The Bills have a notoriously high-scoring unit with Allen under center -- the team has scored 30-plus points in 10 of their last 11 regular-season games when Allen has attempted a pass. Fields said he was unfazed by the number of points Pittsburgh put up in Week 1, and he appears to be approaching the upcoming matchup with the same mentality. "We're always ready to put up a lot of points," he said. "But our goal is to put up one more point than them on Sunday, so that's all that matters." Fields and Allen are proven dual threats -- they each found the end zone twice on runs in Week 1, and the mobility of each QB should add another element to their respective offenses in this divisional showdown at MetLife Stadium.
