ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. —The New York Jets are coming to town for an AFC East showdown Thursday night, and Rex Ryan was in no mood to reflect on old grudges.
Whatever raw emotions the Bills coach felt toward his former team during his first season in Buffalo last year have dissipated with time.
“Last year, I thought it was different because I was going back to New York, it seemed like bigger,” said Ryan, who memorably punched the air in delight and yelled a profanity following Buffalo’s 22-17 win in his first return to the Meadowlands in November. “This is just a football game now, and I think that’s kind of how everybody views it.”
Aside from a few offhand remarks regarding the success of his fantasy baseball team, and a shoutout to his son, Seth, to earn more playing time at Clemson, Ryan was all business this week, and for good reason.
He has far more pressing concerns facing a short week of practice and questions about an offense that sputtered in a season-opening 13-7 loss at Baltimore, and could be missing two key starters to injury. Receiver Sammy Watkins is questionable because of soreness is his surgically repaired left foot, and starting left tackle Cordy Glenn (ankle) is out.
That’s worrisome for a Tyrod Taylor-led attack that managed just 160 yards offense on Sunday.
There’s also the added weight of pressure Ryan is bearing following a year in which the Bills played below expectations, finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs for a 16th consecutive year.
In seven previous seasons as a head coach, Ryan has never opened a season 0-2.
“Gosh,” he said, when reminded of that statistic, “I hope that trend continues.”
There’s a similar sense of urgency for the Jets, who gave up a go-ahead field goal in the final minute of a 23-22 loss to Cincinnati. Now the Jets make the trip to where their playoff hopes ended with a season-ending 22-17 loss to the Bills in January.
The memory stings especially for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who closed the game by throwing three consecutive interceptions.
“That was a tough one for me to get over,” said Fitzpatrick, who went 20-33 as a Bills starter from 2009-2012. “But you tend to find a way to move on, and this is a new year.”
The Jets return mostly intact on offense and improved their ground attack with the offseason addition of running back Matt Forte. New York’s defensive line is one of the NFL’s most disruptive, and was in on six of seven sacks last weekend.