2. Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets
Game time: Monday, September 11, 7:15 pm CT
Odds Via DraftKings Sportsbook: Bills -2.5
TV: ESPN/ABC
This one could be amazing or disappointing. The reason we have it in the number two slot is that unlike the Chargers and the Dolphins, there is a serious chance for regression from the Bills. Additionally, Aaron Rodgers may not return to form the way that the media desperately wants him to. With all of this in mind, it is still a divisional game that has real consequences as to who will come out on top in the long run.
The Jets have not pumped the breaks. No one has even attempted to slow the hype train. The self-imposed expectation is that the Jets make a deep playoff run to the Super Bowl. During the filming of HBO's Hard Knocks, the Jets made it very clear that they believed that not only was Aaron Rodgers going to get them to the promised land, but that he also was the best in the game. After a lackluster season in Green Bay, that remains to be seen. In the final game of Week 1, Rodgers has a chance to announce in a big way that he is back and that the Jets aren't just a media creation.
The Bills, on the other hand, have a lot to prove. After coming up short of the AFC Championship a year ago, they have had a strange offseason in which their star wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been rumored to be looking for a way out. Further, the Bills lost some key contributors from a season ago. Now, they are looking to right the wrongs and get to the Super Bowl, which is what was expected of them a season ago.
The bottom line: This one will be a close game that will be determined by who can make a big play at the right moment. Will Aaron Rodgers throw a costly interception, or will the Bills fail to convert on a fourth and short? Certainly a number of possibilities in this one.
I expect the Bills to eke out a victory in Week 1 because the Jets still have a lot to prove offensively and the Bills can exploit that with an aggressive play style.
Prediction: Bills 24, Jets 20