This is the first meeting between the Jets and Bills since last November’s matchup ended with a postgame skirmish in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms.
Bills tackle Dion Dawkins and Jets defensive end Micheal Clemons were at the center of that pushing and shoving and also had some tense exchanges on the field in the fourth quarter. This offseason, Dawkins called Clemons a “b—h boy” and said he hates the Jets on a podcast.
“He said a lot of stuff. I don’t really care,” Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “We’re going to be on the field soon, so he can let it all out then if he wants. I’m excited for it.”
Clemons declined to speak to reporters this week. Back in February on VladTV, Dawkins said, “Weirdos being weird,” when asked about the postgame scuffle. He also said Clemons did not really want to fight him.
“If you’re going to run up on somebody, run all the way up on somebody,” Dawkins said. “Don’t run up and stop 5 yards behind and just start talking. So, when he did that, I’m like, ‘First of all, you really don’t want to fight me. You’re really a b—h.’ ”
Dawkins said he respects defensive tackle Quinnen Williams but no other Jets.
“I hate them, all of them, bro. … When it comes to sports, there are people that play the sport because they love the sport, and then there’s people that play the sport just to try to be cool,” Dawkins said. “I feel like they play the sport to try to be cool. Those are a bunch of dudes that just want to take pictures on Instagram. That’s whack.”
Dawkins met with reporters in Buffalo this week and said he expects tension.
“I would say over the years of playing the Jets over and over and over, twice every year, like how I mentioned, the tension is extremely high,” Dawkins said.
Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel said the defense has not played as well as they had hoped entering this season.
“We’re not where we wanted to be. We can say that,” Manuel said. “Defensively, we’re not where we wanted to be from that standpoint. We left opportunities out there. We did a lot good things, but the consistency of which we set as our standard, we haven’t played to it yet. That’s the detail of the players we have in the locker room and the coaches, getting back to the details, understanding the small things that we need to do in order for us to win the games.”
The Jets are currently No. 2 in the NFL in yards allowed per game.
