This time, there is a difference — a positive difference, a painful difference, an anxious one, and a rewarding one. Perhaps you didn’t sleep as late as you typically would, because what will begin at 1 p.m. is already residing in the near recesses of your mind. It has been some time since I’ve felt this way.
Football is distinct from other sports simply because days like this are possible. In other sports, if you allow yourself to get too worked up about a single game that does not have the power to end your season, you may soon find yourself in a straitjacket. In football, possession is everything.
You desire a Sunday with significance.
You want a meaningful 1 o’clock.
The Jets’ season will not end on Sunday afternoon, even if everything goes wrong in Orchard Park, New York, even if the Bills pound the Jets for three hours and the Jets leave the field having moved from the “safely in” column to the “in the hunt” column in the postseason picture. Therefore, the stakes are not crucial.
But, man. For the first time in a very, very long time, it feels like a game that will play with your emotions on every snap if your favorite colors are green and white and your favorite team is the Jets, who have 7 wins and 5 losses on the season and are attempting to make a statement that can be heard in every corner of the NFL.
This week, head coach Robert Saleh stated, “It’s a division matchup, so it’s always a challenge to face a division opponent.” “I believe they are fairly healthy offensively; they were healthy then, and they are today. It is difficult to play a division opponent twice; it will be a struggle. It is difficult because you must devise techniques that keep them on their heels, but there is a balance in terms of how you conduct business.
On Sunday, the Bills and Josh Allen, who was tackled by Vince Curry, will seek payback against the Jets.
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“However, they had ten days of rest and are currently playing at home. It’s a big-time division game, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Playing the game may be enjoyable. Coaching is enjoyable.
But observing? As a completely devoted fan? Yeah. That will be either torment or ecstasy, with no middle ground. There was some of it among Jets fans last week, as they hoped their club would march into Minneapolis and defeat the Vikings. Until the Vikings blitzed bliss 36 inches from the end zone, bliss appeared to be a realistic possibility.
However, this was a non-conference opponent. It was one week earlier according to the calendar.
This is distinct. This is the Bills, a team against whom the Jets’ history dates literally to the beginning — a 27-3 victory for the then-Titans over the Bills at the Polo Grounds on September 11, 1960, the first game in both teams’ histories. Five weeks ago, the Jets upset the Bills, creating a short crisis for the apparent Super Bowl favorites.
This is Buffalo, a community desperate for a championship after 57 years without one, a city that loves its football team with more passion and ferocity than almost any other. These is Buffalo, with an 80% chance of rain in the forecast, a fan base that has been salivating for payback, has an insatiable appetite for games like this, and hasn’t seen the Bills play at home in nearly a month.
But this is a Jets team, and five weeks ago, when they rendered Josh Allen a puddle at MetLife Stadium, they established themselves as legitimate. Last week’s loss against Minnesota, in which they fell short by a few points, did not affect their confidence that they are legitimate. They have accorded the Bills their due regard. However, they are also aware of what a victory on Sunday will entail.
Mike White, quarterback of the New York Jets, believes it will be a significant test for the squad. Clearly, this is an extremely difficult location to play. This is a pretty strong team. They are currently advancing, therefore it will be a war. I anticipate it with eagerness.”
Then why not? Jets fans have spent so many comparable Sundays over the previous few years searching the Red Zone Channel for meaningful games, always elsewhere. Not at present. Not on Sunday this week There’s no question where you’ll be after 1 o’clock. There is nowhere you would rather be.
»Jets’ participation in a high-stakes game against the Bills is a triumph«