1 - McCoy success equals Bills success against Jets
If history repeats itself, Buffalo's going to need a strong showing out of LeSean McCoy against the New York Jets if they want to improve to 6-2 on the season. Since joining the Bills in 2015, McCoy is 2-2 when facing the Jets. In those two wins, he rushed for over 100 yards in each game. In the two losses, he came nowhere close to the 100-yard mark.
Bills quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, talked on Tuesday about the importance of getting McCoy going in the game.
"It's very important. Anytime you can get Shady [LeSean McCoy] going in the run game it opens up things in the passing game for me and it gets his confidence going," Taylor said. "He starts making bigger and bigger plays in the run game and the pass game. So there's a conscious effort to get him going each and every week."
The two losses McCoy has taken at the hands of the Jets demonstrate his value. In Week Two of 2016, McCoy had 15 carries for 59 yards and the Bills lost 37-31. That same season in Week 17, he had five carries for 10 yards and the team lost 30-10.
McCoy's first win against New York came in Week 10 of 2015. He had 19 carries for 112 yards and Buffalo won 22-17. His second win against the Jets came this season in Week One. He had 22 carries for 110 yards and the Bills won 21-12 to start the season. McCoy mentioned what having big games do for the offense.
"Well I'd love to get another 100 yards, that'd be good for me. As long as we get the 'W' man," he said. "Not just the yards, establishing the run, getting manageable downs. Second-and-five, second-and-four, those types of yardage makes the game a lot easier for us."
The Week Nine matchup will mark the third-straight year the Bills and Jets have faced off on Thursday Night Football. McCoy is coming off a heavy workload (27 rushes, six receptions), but he'll be ready for the primetime divisional game.
"I would love to have a full week. But it is what it is," he said. "We have to go out there and get it done. I'll be fine. I'm sore, but I'll be okay for Thursday."
2 - Taylor's history on Thursday Night Football
Bills quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, became a member of the team in 2015. He's now in the midst of his third year in Buffalo and he's again preparing for the New York Jets tonight. Taylor's no stranger to this setting, considering this will be his third-straight year facing the Jets on TNF.
"It's a great opportunity," Taylor said. "Night games give you just a different feeling. Of course, when you know everyone's watching you, you look forward to those moments."
In the past, Taylor has been solid in those moments. His first primetime start against the Jets came in Week 10 of 2015. Taylor completed 17 of 27 passes for 158 yards and added one touchdown with no interceptions.
His performance last season at New Era Field on Thursday night was productive too. He completed 18 of 30 passes against the Jets for 297 yards. That was his second-most passing yards in 2016. Taylor also threw three touchdowns in that game which tied a career high.
The signal caller and his team had a short week to prepare coming off of Sunday's win. He's confident they're ready despite the quick turnaround.
"Even with the short week, guys are preparing hard and looking forward to this opportunity to show the other team what we can do," Taylor said. "As well as show the people that are going to be watching, everyone's going to be tuned into Thursday Night Football, to show that this team is real."
3 - Buffalo respected in Week Nine power rankings
For the second week in a row the Bills claimed the number nine spot in the NFL Power Rankings. Their 34-14 win over the Oakland Raiders in Week Eight didn't boost them up or bump them down.
NFL.com Analyst, Elliot Harrison, placed the Bills in the top-10. He spoke highly of the team and even had a bold playoff prediction.
Gonna put myself out there and say the Bills make the postseason. A few folks felt I put them too high after the Week Four win in Atlanta. But with two wins in the last three games -- and a shiny 5-2 record overall -- Buffalo still strikes me as a top-10 team. This week, Sean McDermott's group of guys (who act like a bunch of high school sophomores when one of their teammates gets a big play, which is kind of awesome) will visit the Jets on a short week for "Thursday Night Football." What an important game.
The Bills can improve to 6-2 on the season with a win over the Jets tonight. A victory would likely result in the Bills climbing up in the rankings next week.
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