AFC East Notes: Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

The Bills’ Week 4 matchup against the Patriots was seen as a measuring stick for an upstart Buffalo team, and while the Bills fell short it’s still had a positive impact on their season. Bills QB Josh Allen threw three interceptions in the loss and left the game with a greater appreciation of how he needed to make better decisions to enable the team’s success. Since then, Allen has just two interceptions in 235 passing attempts. 

“He learned a lot from that loss about how to manage the game and seeing how Tom Brady handled some of those same situations,” one team source said via CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. “That was a defensive game, obviously, and sometimes you just have to let your defense win. The light really came on after that.”

Jets

Jets S Jamal Adams‘ relationship with the team was on rocky ground in the week following the trade deadline after his name came up repeatedly in rumors about a trade to the Cowboys. While the two sides have apparently mended fences, there’s enough noise now that Adams’ status with the team will be in question until he signs an extension — though even extensions haven’t kept some high-priced New York stars with their teams recently. Former NFL QB Boomer Esiason said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is well aware of that. 

“This is Jerry, as he says in his own words, dropping chum in the water,” Esiason said via ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “… That chum is really impacting negatively the fan base and the player and, of course, the front office. … Jerry Jones and his band of merry men down in Dallas do it all the time, which is a disgrace for the NFL.”

“Jerry Jones recruits players who are under contract to other teams by leaking potential trades to the media, and that’s wrong,” Esiason elaborated. “He did it with Earl Thomas in Seattle, and he did it with Jamal Adams and the Jets. He put the Seattle Seahawks in a bad spot, and he put the Jets in a bad spot. The players react because they get emotional and they don’t get it. They don’t understand it, and social media is all over them.”

• Cimini expects Jets WR Robby Anderson to sign a similar deal to Raiders WR Tyrell Williams (four years, $44.4 million, around $11 million per season, $10 million guaranteed at signing) in free agency this offseason. 
• However, Cimini doesn’t expect the Jets to be the team to give Anderson that contract. 
• Jets sixth-round rookie CB Blessuan Austin has only been targeted 21 times since entering the starting lineup, which is surprising as teams usually target rookie corners: “I was expecting teams to come at me a little bit more. mindset actually is, I hope they come at me, so I can make a play and help the team out.”

Patriots

Patriots QB Tom Brady has expressed some frustration in recent weeks with the limitations of New England’s offense. However, some close to Brady say his frustrations stem more with the way the roster has been constructed than with any individual players. 

“Tom is trying to get guys fired up and motivate them in his own way,” said one source via CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. “That’s not really new. But the problem is, right now there are really only two guys on offense he can trust, there isn’t anyone who can win regularly on the outside and there is only so much scheming you can do.”

Patriots WR Julian Edelman and RB James White are Brady’s only two consistent weapons. Expecting rookies like N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers to make major contributions in Year 1, let alone in the Patriots scheme, is unrealistic, and veteran WR Mohamed Sanu is still learning the playbook after a midseason trade. New England also still hasn’t come anywhere close to replacing Rob Gronkowski at tight end. 

“There is no speed on that offense, anywhere,” said one executive. “Edelman moves the chains and White can help them win on third down, but there is no explosion. You aren’t sitting there worrying about which guy you have to double.”

• Per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Patriots LT Isaiah Wynn says he’s still working on catching up to the rest of the team after spending eight weeks on injured reserve: “Everyone else was at Week 12, and this is just Game 3 for me. It’s having that time to get caught up with everyone else, and opponents. I’d say it’s getting better on a weekly basis.”