Mission remains same for Jets, Jeff Ulbrich: Corral Bills QB Josh Allen

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The week began with Jeff Ulbrich preparing his defense for Josh Allen.

The week ended with him preparing the Jets defense for the Bills quarterback.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

“He’s still growing as a quarterback and you’re starting to see this evolution of a guy that really understands when to protect [the football] and he’s doing an excellent job with the ball,” Ulbrich said of Allen Saturday. “We got an amazing challenge on Monday night.”

That is an understatement.

The Jets (2-3) host Allen and a reconfigured Buffalo (3-2) offensive unit at MetLife Stadium Monday night.

The Bills are one of the highest scoring teams in the league. They enter the game ranked fifth in the NFL in points scored per game (28.4) despite ranking 22nd in yards per game (299.4) and 24th in passing yards (181.6).

“They’ve done a really good job,” defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel said. “They are mixing it up which makes it a little more difficult on this side to stop them. We have to do a good job of understanding how they are going to try to manipulate us down the field.”

That starts with Allen, who has a career record of 7-4 against the Jets, but has lost two-of-his-last-four-games against them.

Through five games this season, Allen has thrown for eight touchdowns and 945 yards (79-for-131; 60.3% completion) without tossing an interception.

Which is something of a sea change since coming into the 2024 season when Allen had thrown 78 interceptions in 94 games.

So what changed? Was it the offseason trade of big-play wide receiver Stefon Diggs to Houston for three draft picks?

In part, yes.

“A renewed dedication to the run game,” said Ulbrich of a rushing attack whose 118.2 yards per game is 13th in the league. “There [were] times in past years where they dedicated themselves to it. There’s times they didn’t. This year, they want to be a physical, run team. You feel that.”

The Bills have announced that running back James Cook (toe) and wide receiver Khail Shakir (ankle) were questionable for Monday night.

If Cook and Shakir can't play or are limited, that could force Allen to be more of a running threat. Allen has carried the ball 26 times for 160 yards and has scored two touchdowns, but he has fumbled three times.

Which leads to a subplot.

The game marks the first time that Jets defensive end Michael Clemons and Buffalo offensive tackle Dion Dawkins take the field against each other since the Bills’ 32-6 win at Highmark Stadium on Nov. 19, 2023.

In the fourth quarter of that game, Clemons and Dawkins got into an on-field scuffle that carried over after the game. When asked about the fracas during an interview with VLADTV in February, Dawkins claimed Clemons was talking to Josh Allen and other Bills players.

“Don’t talk to my quarterback. Stay over there,” Dawkins said. “. . . He went down the whole team. Everybody on the field. Pointing at us and just yapping his beat.”

Dawkins knocked Clemons to the ground on a running play in the fourth and jumped onto him. After the two rose to their feet, Clemons shoved Dawkins and received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play.

As both teams left the field following the game, the two had an altercation in the tunnel with players keeping Dawkins and Clemons separated.

“When it comes to sports, there are people that play the sport because they love the sport and then there's people that play the sport just to try to be cool,” Dawkins said.

He made certain to point out that that was not solely an assessment of one individual.

“I hate them,” Dawkins said of the Jets.

Clemons was not available in the locker room following practice.

Injury list

Nickel back Michael Carter II will miss his second straight game with a hamstring injury. Tight end Ty Conklin (hip) and linebacker C.J. Mosley (toe) are questionable. Buffalo DT Ed Oliver (hamstring) is out, while DT Austin Johnson (oblique) and CB Taron Johnson (forearm) are questionable.