AFC East foes meet again seeking to fix offensive issues

It wasn’t long ago when excitement was building in New York City and across the state in Buffalo over the potential AFC East quarterback rivalry between Aaron Rodgers and Josh Allen.

The buzz lasted four offensive snaps for the Jets before Rodgers went down with a torn left Achilles tendon in their season opener against the Bills.

It’s taken a little longer in Buffalo, where these days the “Shout!” song after each Bills scoring play has been replaced by a chorus of boos directed at Allen and a stagnant, turnover-prone offense. Coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired on Tuesday.

Some 11 weeks after the Jets pulled out a 22-16 overtime win over the Bills at the Meadowlands, the teams meet at Orchard Park, New York, today, voicing similar frustrations.

“We need to stop with the self-inflicted wounds,” Jets quarterback Zach Wilson said. “Obviously, we’ve said that a million times. We just need to be better.”

It’s no different in Buffalo, where Allen on Wednesday said the same thing, before adding: “It’s not like it’s broken. We’re not a broken offense. We’re not a broken team.”

And yet the cracks are showing.

The Bills (5-5) have dropped four of six during which Allen has thrown seven of his NFL-leading 11 interceptions and lost two fumbles. Buffalo hasn’t scored 26 or more points in a game during that stretch, matching the team’s longest such run since Allen’s rookie season in 2018.

The Jets (4-5) are having trouble reaching the end zone. They’ve scored just eight touchdowns and have gone 36 possessions without a TD, a drought spanning 11 quarters and an overtime period.

Another thing the teams have in common: players-only meetings.

The Bills held one two weeks ago, though it did them little good before a 24-22 loss to Denver.

It was the Jets’ turn on Tuesday, following a 16-12 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

“We definitely needed it,” left tackle Mekhi Becton said. “It was everybody just looking in the mirror and taking accountability instead of finger-pointing. Now we’ve got to figure out what we need to do to keep this thing going.”

The Bills are counting on the change at coordinator to jolt Allen out of his doldrums. Quarterbacks coach Joe Brady has assumed those duties.

“As much as you can sit here and feel sorry for yourself and sulk on what’s going on, we’ve got a game to prepare for,” Allen said.

In New York, the only hope might rest on Rodgers’ ongoing hints of potentially returning to play this season.

“The pressure is to keep it afloat just to keep it afloat,” coach Robert Saleh said. “It’s not for any one individual. It’s not for any possibility. It’s because we’re competitors and we want to win football games. And I think Aaron’s just icing on the cake.”