The Buffalo Bills head into Week 10 with the NFL’s top scoring offense, a 7-1 record and a four-game winning streak, but their trip to the New York Jets comes with a different kind of test. Buffalo has scored 32.0 points per game and averaged 386.4 total yards, yet the game in front of it is less about the standings than about whether it can keep moving the ball against a defense that still gets to the quarterback.
That is why Bills vs Jets is drawing attention now. The Bills are not just winning; they are winning by margin, coming off a 36-10 rout of the Ravens and a 23-6 victory over the Vikings, games in which they allowed 16 points combined after giving up 29 or more in five of their first six. Joe Brady told reporters this week that records can mislead in this league, and the matchup in Week 10 gives that warning real weight. The Jets are 2-7 and have lost four straight, but they still rank fifth in pressure rate at 39.2 percent and have 22 sacks, a pass rush that can make a short road trip feel longer fast.
The line is where Buffalo may have to solve the biggest part of the game. Spencer Brown, the Bills’ starting right tackle, is doubtful with an ankle injury, and that matters against a Jets front that has created heat even while the losses pile up. If Brown cannot go, Buffalo’s protection plan will have to hold up long enough for a run game and quick throws to do their work. James Cook is part of that answer. He ran 31 times for 107 yards and a touchdown in Minnesota, finished with a 52.9 PFF grade in that game and still showed why Buffalo keeps feeding him: he is fifth in the NFL with 814 rushing yards, tied for eighth at 4.8 yards per carry and has scored in seven straight games.
His production has come with some friction. Through three quarters in Minnesota, Cook averaged 2.7 yards per carry behind Tylan Grable and Austin Corbett on the left side before breaking through with a five-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Buffalo held the ball for 42:32 to Minnesota’s 17:28, which tells the bigger story: the Bills kept possessions alive, kept feeding Cook and eventually wore down the game. That matters here because the Jets rank 26th against the run at 128.0 yards per game, have allowed about 140 rushing yards per game over their last four and gave up 163 yards at 5.1 per carry to Kansas City last Sunday. Since 2021, they have still held Buffalo to 145 rushing yards per game, 4.6 per carry and 15 touchdowns across ten meetings, so the history says the ground game will have to earn every yard.
There is another reason Buffalo may trust the game plan if the pass protection gets shaky. Ed Oliver has played five games this season, and Buffalo allowed 25.3 points per game with him on the field and 31.7 without him through the first stretch. In the two games since his return, the Bills have allowed 10 points and 6 points, and he played 28 snaps in Minneapolis. The Bills are getting better in the games that matter most right now, while the Jets remain dangerous in a narrow way despite a bad record. That is the shape of Week 10: one team chasing a playoff run with momentum, the other trying to turn pressure into one more upset chance. For Buffalo, the next test is simple and unforgiving — protect the edge, stay on schedule and find out whether Cook and the line can keep the streak moving in one of the league’s toughest places to start a drive.
