AFC Notes: Bills, Josh Allen, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills QB Case Keenum said he is prepared to fill in for Josh Allen (elbow) in Week 10 if he’s called upon to play. 

“I’m doing the same thing I do every week, I prepare to play every week, every day, every period, every practice, every meeting, so it’s the same just got a few more reps today,” Keenum said, via Grace Heidinger of the team’s official site. “I feel great, feel great with the communication, the mindset of the team with Dorsey, and the communication from Sean everybody and taking it a day at a time.”

Keenum believes he’s well prepared to play given his experience throughout his 11-year career. 

“I’ve been in all situations,” Keenum said. “Played a lot without any practice, know how to do that, step into the middle of the game. I’ve practiced some and then played, I’ve practiced very little and played. I’ve literally been in any situation you could probably think of throughout the week.”

Keenum thinks he’s on the same page with the Bills’ receivers. 

“I watch where he’s throwing the ball and those guys body language coming in and out of the break,” Keenum said. “I’ve gotten a lot of those reps with my eyes, the feel, and visualization. So, I’ve gotten a lot of those reps before and it’s just putting them into place.”

• Bills HC Sean McDermott said that they are observing QB Josh Allen (elbow) on an “hour-to-hour” basis: “We are in an hour-to-hour situation here to see how he progresses through the day.” (Joe Buscaglia)
• Josina Anderson reports that Allen is scheduled to practice on Friday and they will “see what he can do.”
• Although S Jordan Poyer has already been ruled out for Week 10, McDermott said that the safety “remains day-to-day.” (Joe Buscaglia)
• McDermott said LB Matt Milano (hamstring) is “ready to play” in Sunday’s game. (Joe Buscaglia)

Jets

Former Jets star CB Darrelle Revis has high praise for first-round CB Sauce Gardner, who is currently playing at an elite level after his performance against the Bills and QB Josh Allen.

“When you come in as a rookie, you want the elite players you’re playing against to respect you, and the only way you do that is to be a playmaker,” Revis told ESPN. “I think Sauce has the word ‘playmaker’ written all over him. I think he has the potential to carry the torch on to be a great cornerback for the New York Jets. I think his ceiling is very high. I think he has all the tangibles. I think he has all the potential to continue to grow into a great player, a great corner, and a great leader as he represents the New York Jets.”

“The biggest thing, in order to play fast, is film study and having a high IQ for football,” Revis continued. “It seems like he’s a student of the game, and he’s ready to take any challenge when it comes to playing at a high level. I just kind of told myself, ‘If I had all this hype coming in, I just have to play up to the hype.’ I think my message to Sauce would be the same because I think we have some similarities in terms of being very confident players, especially at a very young age. I would say to him, continue to build on that confidence because there’s no ceiling for that confidence.”

“I think the biggest thing is, Sauce has to embrace the city, and the city is embracing him back by his play,” Revis added. “I think it’s great to have that electric energy from the city for players like Sauce. Once he understands he can embrace it, he can be a fan favorite for a very long time.” 

Patriots

With the Patriots currently ranked No. 16 in points scored so far this season compared to finishing No. 6 last season, QB Mac Jones isn’t concerned with the downturn in statistics and thinks the coaches are examining ways to improve. 

“You can look at statistics, but a lot of times there’s some false realities there,” Jones said, via ProFootballTalk. “But that’s also stuff that you can look at, ‘Hey, for team stuff, how many times are we doing this, running the ball, play action, screen?’ So, there’s a lot of things that coaches are looking at. Every team does that I’m sure, in some capacity. At the end of the day, like I said, if each individual player gets better, then we can kind of put that together as a team, and obviously as an offense and then kind of kick start the back half of the year here.”