The Jets are about to face one of the NFL’s most ferocious defensive lines Sunday in Buffalo, and one o🃏f its most feared pass-rushers in Mario Williams. But Gang Green blanked the Bil🌌ls’ pass rush in their last meeting, and frustrated Williams last year. They’re confident they can do both again.
“We understand they’re a talented D-ജline; that’s no secret,” left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson said.
“But we feel like we have the ability to stop them. We feel like we have the ability to execute and have success. We feel like we have the talent and ability to beཧ good matchups with those guys.’’
There h♌aven’t been many good matchups against Buffalo’s front four, but the Jets have proven to be one of the fe🌌w.
The Bills are seventh in the NFL in sacks, and Williams’ 11 sacks are tied for third in the league. But Gang Green didn’t allow a sack in their 27-20 home victory over Buffalo on Sept. 22, and frustrated Williams during last year’s early-season win to the point he complained right tackle Austin Howard wa൲s using illegal hands to his face.
Forget🌠 his face: Has Howard gotten in Williams’ head?
“There is some frustration,’’ Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “Mario Williams is a great player to be shut out on the scoresheet, that’s one way to talk about it. But the league knows [Howard]; that’s a pretty goo🦄d football player.
“He’s done a phenomenal job against arguably one of the best players in the league, and he did it last year, too, when everybody thought [Williams] was getting doubled. No, he was getting doubled by his left arm and his right arm. He’s a big, athletic guy and matches up well with almost anybody, and another young player wไho is ascending.’’
After Howard was left largely one-on-one against Williams last year in the Jets’ 48-28 rout of Buffalo — Williams’ highly-anticipated debut after being handed a mam𓆏moth $100 million contract — the Bills star griped and groused about Howard using illegal hands to the face. But Howard shrugged it off, saying it wasn’t about p𒈔enalties — but preparation for the Bills’ variety of blitzes and disguises.
“We’re very confident as an offens🎐ive line,’’ the 6-foot-7, 333-pou꧒nd Howard said. “That only comes from the preparation you put into it. We don’t go into any games thinking it’s going to be easy, especially against Buffalo.
“We watch film and we prepare. We know this week of practice has to be 100 percent focused, 100 p🃏ercent iꦛnto the game and doing everything we can here in New York to prepare for these guys.
“That being said, we feel we have the guy🍰s up front to do so, to have success and continue to keep Geno [Smith] free and making holes for the running back. But it’s going to be a challenge, a battle. We expect nothing le♏ss.’’
The Bills’ pass-rush comes from every conceiv💎able direction🃏, the only team in the NFL boasting four players with at least five sacks (backup end Jerry Hughes as well as tackles Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams).
🔴“They’re one of ♒the best D-lines in the league, hands-down. Top five, easily,’’ guard Willie Colon said.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys. They play tenacious. Kyle Williams is probably one of the most underrated tackles in the game. If you watch him on 🔜tape, he’s a hell-raiser. For us we just ha✃ve to be able to communicate.
“They do a lot of things blitz-wise, do a lot of things out of packages, and if we’re not on our game it can get bloody up there. I⛎’ve seen other teams get molly-whopped up there. We’ve got to start fast and set the tone early, not feel our way through💞 the first quarter, but just come out running. If we’re able to do that, we’ll be OK.’’