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Jets change offensive play-caller four days ahead of Week 6 bout with Bills

The Buffalo Bills will face off against a new Jets' offensive play-caller in their Week 6 bout with New York.

Kyle Silagyi

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The New York Jets have made yet another coaching alteration ahead of their Week 6 Monday Night Football clash with the Buffalo Bills, as interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich announced Thursday morning that quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Todd Downing is set to take over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

Ulbrich was promoted to interim head coach in New York earlier this week after the team fired fourth-year sideline boss Robert Saleh following a 2-3 start. The talented Jets roster has looked pedestrian on both sides of the ball through five games, but their offense has perhaps been the more underwhelming unit, currently ranking 27th in the NFL in total offense and 25th in points per game (18.6).

Downing has been on New York’s coaching staff since 2023, his most recent offensive coordinator stint coming with the Tennessee Titans from 2021–2022; Tennessee finished in the bottom half of the league in total offense in both of those seasons, finishing with the NFL’s third-worst offensive unit in 2022. 

Related: Former All-Pro WR says Bills have put rookie Keon Coleman in ‘an unfair spot’

The 44-year-old replaces Hackett as offensive play-caller, which is perhaps surprising given the coordinator’s relationship and rapport with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The veteran signal-caller won two NFL MVP Awards with Hackett as his coordinator in Green Bay; they obviously haven’t been able to replicate their success with the Jets thus far.

The change in play-caller four days out from New York’s Week 6 matchup would, in theory, provide another advantage for Buffalo; though the Bills are in the midst of their own two-game skid, they have more continuity and, in theory, composure entering the matchup, as they’re not dealing with the ramifications of a change in both head coach and offensive play-caller. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott spoke about how his team plans to combat the phenomenon of a club playing with rejuvenated energy in their first game after a coaching change on Wednesday, telling reporters that the team just has to focus on what it can control.

The Jets will likely have a chip on their shoulder, as the winner of Monday’s game will leave MetLife Stadium atop the AFC East; the ball is in Buffalo’s court to not allow an upset.  

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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