Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are having a rough time. Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets are also facing challenges.
Both teams are on a two-game losing streak, leading to questions and some significant changes.
Despite these struggles, they will compete on Monday night for first place in the AFC East.
“Because we started 3-0 and we’ve lost the last two against two good teams, you can find yourself questioning things,” said Allen, who has never lost three games in a row as the starting quarterback for Buffalo. “We’re just sticking together, sticking to the game plan and just trusting the process.”
On the other hand, the Jets (2-3) have made major changes.
Owner Woody Johnson surprisingly fired coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday because he was unhappy with how the team was performing. With 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, Johnson knows the Jets have a short window to win, so he decided to make a change and promoted defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to be the interim coach for the rest of the season.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, a little bit of a tornado,” Ulbrich said before leading his first practice on Thursday. “But it’s exciting at the same time.”
Rodgers and the offense will have a new leader after Ulbrich demoted Nathaniel Hackett and promoted passing game coordinator Todd Downing, who is also the Jets’ quarterbacks coach, to be the main play-caller.
“We’re moving on to the Bills. It is time,” said Ulbrich, who will still manage the Jets’ defense. “It’s time we get this thing going. Start playing the brand of football we know we’re capable of. So, the entirety of our focus is now on the Buffalo Bills.”
This has left their division rivals uncertain about what to expect from the Jets. “My sense is they’re going to be prepared to go Monday night,” Allen said about the Jets. “We’re going to have to handle every shot they throw at us and keep getting back up and moving forward.
Have to have a great sense of urgency, get off to a hot start and find ways to stay on the field on third down and score touchdowns when we’re down in the red zone.”
