The New York Jets may have won just four games last year, but they are entering a 2019 campaign full of hope as they play host to the Buffalo Bills in their season opener on Sunday afternoon.
While the New England Patriots are still the clear favorites to win the AFC East, there are some who feel the Jets are a sleeper playoff contender in what is a deep conference.
New York made a bunch of moves this offseason to improve its ballclub on both sides of the ball, and now, we'll get to see the new-look Jets in action for the first time in a game they should win this weekend.
So, here are three predictions for the Jets in Week 1.
3. Sam Darnold Will Have a Light Day
The Bills actually had the best pass defense in the NFL last year, so we probably shouldn't expect too much from Sam Darnold in this one.
No, he is no longer a rookie, but he is still a very young and inexperienced quarterback, and the Jets are likely not going to want to push him this soon, especially against a strong pass defense.
Of course, in today's game, a “light” day from a quarterback may feature 30 pass attempts, but I'm not even sure New York will let Darnold throw the ball that much in this one.
For reference, in Darnold's lone start against Buffalo last year, he threw just 24 passes, which was his third-lowest mark of the season. Expect him to be somewhere between 25-30 throws in Week 1, and expect a good number of those throws to be on short and intermediate routes.
2. Le'Veon Bell Will Get a Ton of Touches
While the Bills may have had the league's best pass defense in 2018, their run defense was pretty ordinary, as Buffalo ranked just 16th in that category.
Enter Le'Veon Bell, the Jets' prized most offseason addition.
Sure, Bell didn't play at all during his final year with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, but he is healthy and he is just 27 years old, so he shouldn't show many ill effects.
There might be some rust at first, but that doesn't mean the Jets aren't going to give him a high volume of touches.
Again, New York is not going to want to force anything with Darnold, so its offense will be built around Bell, who, when right, is one of the best running backs in the NFL.
Bell also led the league in carries the last time we saw him in 2017, so we know he can handle a heavy workload. Expect a heavy dose of Bell on Sunday.
1. The Jets Will Win a Low-Scoring Affair
Neither of these two teams are exactly brilliant offensively, so it would not be the least bit surprising if neither club even scores 20 points in this one.
The Jets are home, so I'm anticipating that they'll come away with a 17-10 win or something of the sort.
It might be an ugly game with some turnovers and a bunch of three-and-outs, but that is fairly commonplace for divisional matchups, especially with two teams that have young, raw quarterbacks.
I think most can agree that New York should be the better team this season, so it seems only natural to expect the Jets to win on their home field.
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