The Jets are looking to avenge their embarrassing 41-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills last month, and in Jamal Adams' eyes, "It's personal.
"They came in and they whupped us," Adams continued, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini. "They don't like us, we don't like them, so it's going to be a tough battle."
So much went wrong for the Jets on Nov. 11 that it was fair to question of the players quit. The heat under head coach Todd Bowles' hot seat was scorching; owner Christopher Johnson did comment on Bowles' job status after the game.
New York was embarrassed by fourth-string quarterback Matt Barkley (15 of 25, 232 passing yards, two touchdowns), while Josh McCown, starting in place of the injured Sam Darnold, went 17-for-34 for 135 yards and two interceptions. The Jets trailed 31-3 at halftime.
"You don't want to get beat like that again," wide receiver Quincy Enunwa said. "You don't want to get beat at all by them. You don't forget about that, at least not this soon."
Sunday's matchup will likely feature two of the top-10 picks from April's NFL draft. Darnold is expected to return for the first time since suffering a strained right foot, while the Bills will start Josh Allen, who over the past two games has thrown for 391 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, and also ran for 234 yards.
But Sunday's game is more than the battle between quarterbacks. The Jets lost a fumble that turned into a touchdown. Barkley threw a touchdown pass to an offensive lineman. New York only had the ball for 20:38 and went 1-for-12 on third down.
"There's plenty of motivation for us because we got beat bad," linebacker Avery Williamson said. "We've got a point to prove, to come out and get a victory over them."
