On Sunday, the Jets will travel to New Era Field in Orchard Park, N.Y., to face the Buffalo Bills in their last game of the season.
Jets quarterback Sam Darnold spoke to media after practice on Thursday, and seemed prepared to deal with the Buffalo environment as a road team.
"It's tough," Darnold said. "I mean, Buffalo fans are crazy in the best way. They get it rocking in there."
In Week 1, the Jets fell to the Bills 17-16 at home -- blowing a 16-point lead in the second half. Darnold threw for 175 yards and a touchdown in the loss, but then missed the team's following three games as he battled mononucleosis.
"I think our offense has come a long way since then," Darnold said. "I feel like I've come a long way. Just as a whole, we've gotten better. We've learned from our mistakes that we've made. That's what it's about, it's about continuing to get better. Obviously, there's a lot we need to continue to improve every single week. And this game is just another step, I think, in the right direction towards improvement."
It hasn't been the season that Darnold and the Jets envisioned during his second year in the league, but after a 1-7 start, the team has won five of their past seven games. Darnold has completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 1,748 yards and 12 touchdowns over those seven games, and as head coach Adam Gase said, "he's building."
The Bills are currently 10-5 and have already clinched the AFC's No. 5 seed for the playoffs, though head coach Sean McDermott announced that most of the starters will play against the Jets in Week 17.
"Whoever they put out there is who they put out there," Darnold said. "We're ready for their scheme, and how they're going to run things."
After beating the Pittsburgh Steelers and their No. 4 ranked defense in Week 16, the Jets go up against the Bills' No. 3 defense in total yards allowed per game.
Sam Darnold on playing in Buffalo:
- Jets Videos (@snyjets) December 26, 2019
"It's tough. I mean, Buffalo fans are crazy in the best way" pic.twitter.com/3FIvwAJhTu