AFC East

As second-year quarterback Zach Wilson continues to go through a much-needed reset of his mechanics, he will not see the field for the New York Jets once again.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh told reporters on Friday that Wilson will be inactive for the second straight week, and veteran Joe Flacco will be the backup to Mike White when the team faces the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The Jets benched Wilson last week after his abysmal performance in a 10-3 loss to the New England Patriots. Saleh said the team felt "the young man needs a reset." The 23-year-old also raised eyebrows with his post-game comment that he didn't feel like the offense let the defense down in that game, for which he eventually had to apologize to his teammates.

In Wilson's absence, White took full advantage of his starting opportunity with a 315-yard, three-touchdown performance in a 31-10 win over the Chicago Bears last Sunday. White appears to have won over the team and the fan base, which would make it difficult for Wilson to get back on the field in 2022.

However, Saleh said on Monday that the team's plans hadn't changed and there is still hope to get Wilson back out there this season. As the Jets are fighting for a playoff spot, they would need Wilson to be at his absolute best if he were to be reinserted into the lineup.

After his demotion, Wilson has been running the scout team offense in practice. On Thursday, New York offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur told reporters, "You can see the improvement every single day" in the BYU product.

For now, White will continue running the show. He will have another prime opportunity to showcase his skills, as the Vikings pass defense is ranked last in the NFL.

A little over a week ago, the New England Patriots were winners of three straight. They suffered a narrow loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Thanksgiving, but even then, the 6-5 Patriots felt like a team that could threaten in the postseason.

After Thursday night's 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, however, it feels like New England's season is basically over. Anyone looking to point the finger at quarterback Mac Jones for the loss—or for not being on the level of Josh Allen—shouldn't. Jones didn't fail the Patriots on Thursday. The Patriots have failed Jones all season.

Let's be clear. Jones isn't Allen. He's an adequately athletic pocket passer whose strengths are his timing, accuracy and ability to read a defense. He isn't the sort of dynamic dual-threat who can create big plays out of thin air.

However, Jones cannot and should not be blamed for all of New England's offensive struggles.

The offense isn't exactly loaded with skill-position players. Rhamondre Stevenson is a tremendous runner, while Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith are quality receiving tight ends. However, the wide receiver group—headlined by Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker and Nelson Agholor—leaves plenty to be desired.

Meyers came into Thursday with a team-high 571 receiving yards and a team-high three receiving touchdowns. Those aren't numbers indicative of a No. 1 NFL receiver. Entering Week 13, Parker was the only other player with more than 400 receiving yards on the season.

The reality is that New England lacks breakaway threats, and that's a problem when the quarterback is a distributor and not a creator. Another problem is an offensive line that has now allowed 32 sacks on the season.

You can put things this simply:

If you don't protect a guy like Josh Allen, he can put on a Superman cape and just beat you anyway.

If you don't protect Mac Jones, your offense is dead.

Not sure that's something to hate Jones for, but tonight made that pretty clear.

— Khari D. Thompson (kdthompson5.bsky.social) (@kdthompson5) December 2, 2022

Big plays have been few and far between for New England. We saw this play out on Thursday, as New England's lone explosive play was made by a rookie cornerback getting his first NFL offensive snap.

#Patriots bring in CB and punt-return hero Marcus Jones on **offense**.

All he does is make plays. Speeeed. 💨💨pic.twitter.com/3Jc53oyM65

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 2, 2022

The Patriots and head coach/de facto GM Bill Belichick must shoulder the blame for Jones' lackluster supporting cast.

Of course, Jones had a similar supporting cast last season and was a rookie Pro Bowler who took New England to the playoffs. However, he has regressed in both touchdown passes (from 22 to seven) and passer rating (from 92.5 to 87.3 coming into Thursday)—and the supporting cast is only part of the problem.

The Patriots and Belichick have failed Jones in the coaching department, too. When New England lost offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in the offseason, it didn't replace him with an experienced play caller. Belichick tapped Joe Judge and Matt Patricia—coaches with special teams and defensive backgrounds, respectively—to lead the offense.

Unsurprisingly, the Patriots' attack has been uncreative and predictable for most of the year—one miraculous Marcus Jones play notwithstanding.

So weird. It’s like putting the @Patriots offense in the hand of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge was a bad idea….

— trey wingo (@wingoz) December 2, 2022

Play-calling hasn't helped Jones in any way. No, he doesn't have elite receivers at his disposal, but he does have enough downfield accuracy to stretch the field. Only, the Patriots have rarely attacked deep, instead relying on the run and underneath passes, hoping something breaks.

With the current skill group, there aren't going to be many breakaway plays when opponents aren't concerned with defending the deep ball.

Perhaps Patricia and Co. don't trust the Patriots offensive line. Perhaps they don't trust Jones. Whatever the reason, the result has been an offense that is too easy to defend.

A little creativity could work wonders for Jones, as it did last year. According to Pro Football Reference, Jones ran 32 run-pass options (RPOs) in 2022 and threw for 324 yards on those plays. He attempted 108 play-action passes and threw for 888 yards off of play-action.

Entering Thursday, Jones had run six RPOs and 33 play-action passes with 318 passing yards off of those plays this season.

The Patriots also might want to let Jones do what he does best, stand under center and survey the field.

Mac Jones is better Under Center than Shotgun and that trend continues tonight. When UC he's +17.1% Comp % Over Expected & -12% in shotgun. He's been UC more tonight than his season average, NE should continue to put him there.

— TNF Prime Vision (@TNFPrimeVision) December 2, 2022

With a bland offense that lacks breakaway pass-catchers and doesn't do a stellar job of protecting the quarterback, it would be hard for just about any signal-caller to find success—at least one not named Allen or Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes.

And it's not as if Jones didn't see this coming. The second-year quarterback had trepidation about Belichick's choice of play-caller, and he was largely ignored. According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, this strained the relationship between team and quarterback early in the season.

Breer said the following on the NBC Sports Boston pregame show in October (h/t NESN's Dakota Randall):

"I think things did get a little sideways, really over the last couple of months. And I think it’s going back from the change to Josh McDaniels. ‘Why are we bringing in Joe Judge and Matt Patricia when Bill O’Brien’s sitting out there and potentially we could’ve made a run at him? Why does it make sense to have a defensive guy and a special teams guy here? Why are we changing the offense? Why are we streamlining after all the success I had?'"

Jones doesn't seem nearly as comfortable in the current Patriots offense as he did under McDaniels—a sentiment shared by many around the league, according to Breer.

"One thing some of these people who evaluated him have told me consistently over the course of this year is it doesn't look like he trusts the offense," Breer said on Early Edition (h/t Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston). "So I think the first thing is getting him concepts that he trusts. Figuring out what he likes and focusing on that."

This is perhaps the biggest way in which the Patriots have failed Jones. Instead of listening to the guy they drafted to be the franchise quarterback and tailoring the offense to suit him, New England has dismissed his concerns and tried to force him into an unfamiliar system.

And perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. It's the "Patriot Way" to follow Belichick and do what is asked. It worked for years with Tom Brady running the show, though to be fair, Brady is arguably the best to ever do it.

Of course, New England can point to the success of Bailey Zappe—who went 2-0 and posted a 100.9 QB rating when Jones was out with a high-ankle sprain—and say that the "Patriot Way" still works.

However, when a team doesn't trust its quarterback or acknowledge his input, it's hard for that quarterback to trust the team and to flourish.

So, if New England misses the postseason this year, and a bad offense is the culprit, don't blame Jones. As a rookie, he appeared to be a worthy successor to Brady in New England, but in his second season, the Patriots have let their prospective franchise quarterback down in multiple ways.

The Buffalo Bills placed veteran pass-rusher Von Miller on injured reserve Thursday, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, as he recovers from lateral meniscus damage in his knee.

Jones will miss a minimum of four games with the injury designation.

"We’ve been assessing Von this week and seeing how he is," general manager Brandon Beane told reporters Thursday. "We don't want to rush him back. This gives us a chance to go ahead and count tonight’s game and three more on injured reserve. And hopefully we can get him back for the stretch run."

Miller had said Tuesday during his The VonCast podcast that he was hoping to only be shelved for a short time.

"I do have some lateral meniscus damage, and it's going to have to be addressed," he noted. "But I do feel like I can, you know, play through that, so I'm just gonna wait a little bit, and let the swelling go down for about seven to 10 days and, hopefully, right before the Jets game I will be back."

The Bills decided to play it safer than that, however.

Miller, 33, has been a key player for the Bills this season. Per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg, "Miller leads the Bills in sacks (eight), pass-rush win rate (23.7 percent) and pressure percentage (14.6 percent)."

He's also third in the NFL in pressures (38), trailing only the Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons (46) and the New England Patriots' Matthew Judon (39).

The Bills will miss him for a key stretch that sees them face the New England Patriots (6-5) on Thursday night, followed by the New York Jets (7-4), Miami Dolphins (8-3) and Chicago Bears (3-9). The earliest he could return is a Week 17 matchup with the 7-4 Cincinnati Bengals.

That stretch very likely will determine the AFC East winner and Buffalo's potential playoff seed in the process. The 8-3 Bills are second in the division after losing to Miami earlier in the season, setting up a crucial rematch in three weeks.

Thanksgiving week can be a stressful time under even the most normal of circumstances without being forced to travel hundreds of miles to avoid a major snowstorm to perform your job twice as much as usual in a five-day span.

That is exactly what Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills faced in Weeks 11 and 12 of the season when their game against the Cleveland Browns—which took place just four days before a Thanksgiving matchup against the Lions—was moved to Detroit because of weather concerns.

"Just find a way," Allen told Bleacher Report when asked what the team's mindset was that week. "It was a roller coaster of emotions with lots of ups and downs. Getting snowed in, but then having the fans dig us out of our driveways and dig our cars out and help us out with plowing. And then having two games in five days at the same spot that isn't home.

"So it was big for us to kind of battle that and be resilient and come together and get two wins out of that. We could have easily let that be a distraction or excuse, but the leadership that we have in our locker room and how much we care about each other helped make sure that didn't happen."

Bills mafia helped send their team off by shoveling snow around Buffalo 👏 pic.twitter.com/nDdXshkwrU

— NFL (@NFL) November 19, 2022

That leadership helped the Bills go 2-0 during a stretch that was going to be important regardless of where the games were played.

Buffalo entered the Cleveland matchup on a two-game losing streak and emerged from the contest against the Lions on a two-game winning streak thanks in large part to a back-and-forth victory on Thanksgiving.

Detroit took the lead in the fourth quarter with a D.J. Chark touchdown, but Allen found Stefon Diggs for a score to retake the lead before Detroit tied it with a field goal with 23 seconds left. As if there was ever a doubt, though, Allen directed the offense into field-goal range in the final seconds, and Tyler Bass won it with a 45-yarder.

"I have the best quarterback in the league."

Stefon Diggs, Tyler Bass and Josh Allen celebrate a nail-biting Thanksgiving W with @tracywolfson, and turkey legs of course 🍗 pic.twitter.com/p23AhaeYEl

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 24, 2022

As if the drama of the entire week wasn't enough, Allen has been playing with an elbow injury that hasn't forced him to miss a game but did leave him questionable ahead of the Week 10 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.

"The elbow's feeling great," he said in an update that is welcome news for Bills fans. "We're working through it, and I've been able to play the last few games. I really haven't felt it at all. Each day brings more progress as well, so I'm just trying to find a way to truck on."

That means he will take the field Thursday against Mac Jones and the New England Patriots.

While they will be playing against each other, Allen and Jones partnered with Gillette for the NFL's annual My Cause My Cleats initiative. The quarterbacks worked with visual artist Joshua Vides to create their designs with the proceeds for Jones' going to the Boys & Girls Club in Jordan, Massachusetts, and the proceeds for Allen's going to the Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo through the Patricia Allen Fund.

The Patricia Allen Fund started when Allen's grandmother died and fans started donating to the Oishei Children's Hospital in $17 increments to match his jersey number.

The cleats will be auctioned at NFL.com/auction, and Gillette will match the proceeds.

"We've got a really cool design this year," Allen said. "...My cleats are going to have the OCH blocks that you can find in front of the hospital, the Team 17 logo on the back, the Patricia Allen Fund—which is something near and dear to my heart—on the sides. There's going to be an EKG, there's a heart on each cleat. And then on the inside, we've got six signatures from kids at Oishei Children's Hospital."

As for Jones, his cleats will feature the Boys & Girls Clubs of America logo and a flower or heart on the toe of each one, which was requested by the members of the club when he visited them.

The choice was clear for Allen when deciding he would represent Oishei Children's Hospital for the My Cause My Cleats initiative.

"As a rookie I did a few visits to see some kids," he said. "And I remember as a kid, my brother was in a children's hospital for a week. I just remember as a young kid the angst that I had with the uncertainty of what was going on. And when I did these visits, I just realized how easily I could make an impact on someone and just brighten their day by showing up and being there to show them that people care."

He will be wearing those cleats in a critical Week 13 game against the Patriots where he will have the opportunity to earn a division win and improve his MVP chances.

The University of Wyoming product has completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 3,183 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and appears well on his way to a third straight season with more than 4,000 passing yards. He also has 561 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Allen and Diggs are arguably the top one-two combination in the league, and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had nothing but positive things to say about the quarterback ahead of the matchup.

"Allen's the leading rusher, so that tells you all you need to know about what you have to defend every time he touches the ball, it could be any number of things and does them all well," he told reporters. "Great player, certainly an MVP candidate. He does a lot for their team in a lot of ways."

While the ultimate goal is to take the next step after heartbreaking playoff losses to the Kansas City Chiefs the last two seasons and reach the Super Bowl, Allen could claim the award with a strong finish as he battles with Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and others.

But even Belichick's suggestion that he is in the running didn't take away from his primary focus.

"It's such a great compliment coming from someone that's got such a historical resume and is one of, if not the, greatest coaches to ever grace this game," Allen said. "So it means a lot coming from him. But at the same time, all I'm trying to do is find a way to win the game. And he's going to have a good gameplan, they always do. So we have to find a way to adjust in-game and find a way to win."

Most games with 300 Pass Yards, 3 Pass TD, 0 INT vs Bill Belichick
(incl. postseason)

Josh Allen 3
10 players tied 1 pic.twitter.com/N1UfZ3wdTS

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 29, 2022

Finding a way to win is all the more important in such a competitive AFC East race.

The AFC West got much of the love before the season with Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson and Derek Carr as the quarterbacks, but only the Chiefs are better than one game over .500.

Instead, it is the AFC East that has taken the spot as the best division in the conference with all four teams above .500 and the Bills and Miami Dolphins sitting at 8-3. Miami is yet to lose a game with a healthy Tua Tagovailoa and even defeated Buffalo in Week 3.

Fortunately for the Bills, everything is still in front of them with four of their final six games against divisional foes.

"It's going to take us playing our best ball and finding ways to be smart, score touchdowns and play complementary football," Allen said when asked what the team needs to do to emerge as division champs. "I think the most important thing is taking it one game at a time and trying to go 1-0 each week. Division games are hard, but our most important game is always the next one. And that's Thursday night."

His cleats will have quite the spotlight as the Bills look to build momentum heading into the stretch run.

The New York Jets entered Week 12 in something of an odd situation. At 6-4, the Jets were very much in the postseason picture in the AFC, but New York wasn't being talked about as a legitimate postseason threat for one overriding reason:

The offense was awful.

In an effort to get the offense on track, the Jets made a switch at quarterback this week, benching second-year pro Zach Wilson in favor of Mike White. The move worked like a charm against the Chicago Bears, and after arguably the team's best offensive performance of the season, White appears to be entrenched as the Jets' starter.

And New York suddenly has the look of the kind of team that no one wants to face in the AFC playoffs.

After what happened in Week 11, Jets head coach Robert Saleh didn't really have any choice but to make a switch at quarterback. It wasn't just that the Jets barely cracked 100 yards of total offense or that Wilson completed 41 percent of his passes for just 77 yards.

The tipping point came after the Jets lost 10-3 to the Patriots. When asked by reporters whether he thought New York's anemic offense had let the defense down, Wilson tersely replied, "no."

The lack of accountability reportedly didn't sit well with Wilson's teammates. And with the Jets having lost two of three, Saleh made the call, though he told reporters that the demotion wasn't necessarily permanent.

"The biggest thing with Zach is that the young man needs a reset," Saleh said. "His decision-making has been fine; his practice habits, all that stuff, have been fine; but there's some basic, fundamental things that have gotten really out of whack for him.

"This is an opportunity for him to really sit back, focus on those things, find a way to get reconnected to all those things we fell in love with during the draft process. It's something I feel like he's going to be able to do. I think asking him to do all those things while preparing for a game is unfair."

However, given how White looked in his first start, Wilson's benching isn't going to be a one-week deal, either.

Simply put, White was outstanding against the Bears. For the game, the second-year pro completed 22 of 28 pass attempts for 315 yards and three touchdowns. White didn't turn the ball over and posted a robust passer rating of 149.3.

It was White's second stellar performance in just four career starts. And as ESPN's Rich Cimini pointed out, it puts White in some rather select company.

Mike White is the 5th QB in NFL history to record multiple games with 300 Pass yds and 3 Pass TD within his first 4 career starts.

White joins Kurt Warner (3), Patrick Mahomes (2), Mark Rypien (2) and Austin Davis (2). #Jets

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) November 27, 2022

White's outstanding performance also drew raves from Saleh.

"He did a great job," Saleh told reporters. "He didn't need to be anybody but Mike White. We didn't need to turn into the greatest show on turf, we just needed—wanted him to play within himself and play efficiently, and I thought he did. He made easy look easy. I thought he did a really good job of that."

White's effort rippled down to the rest of the offense. Rookie wideout Garrett Wilson caught five passes for 95 yards and two scores, including a 54-yarder. Second-year wide receiver Elijah Moore, whose role in the offense had evaporated to the point he requested a trade earlier this season, caught a pair of passes for 64 yards and a score.

Tight end Tyler Conklin, who started the season hot only to vanish once Wilson got back in the lineup, reeled in three passes for 50 yards.

The Jets run game got a boost, too. Since rookie phenom Breece Hall went down with an ACL tear several weeks ago, the Jets rushing attack had faltered. But despite veteran James Robinson being a healthy scratch, the Jets piled up 158 rushing yards on 32 carries.

Amazing what can happen if opposing defenses can't stack the box with impunity.

After the game, an elated Moore pointed to Sunday's effort as an indication of what these Jets are capable of.

"That's what happens when we play New York Jets football. ... That's the real New York Jets football," Moore told Jeane Coakley of SNY after the game. "That's the definition of team football. I can't do nothing but thank Mike. Thank the defense. We played as a team."

The Jets did indeed play as a team. Granted, it came against a Bears team that ranked 22nd in total offense entering Week 12 and without Justin Fields. Nonetheless, the Jets allowed just 292 yards of offense, logged a pair of sacks, forced a turnover and allowed just four third-down conversions in 13 attempts.

New York's defense playing well is hardly a surprise, as the unit has carried the team for much of the season. The Jets entered Sunday sixth in the league in total defense, 10th against the pass, ninth in scoring defense and fifth in sacks. This is a unit that held the Bills to just 17 points in a Week 9 win. But as last week's loss to the Patriots showed, a stellar defensive effort is of little use if the team doesn't score any points.

It admittedly came against a Bears defense that has struggled at times this season, but White's performance on Sunday offers hope that the offense can at least hold its own moving forward and that the team's biggest liability could become an asset.

It's not like it doesn't have passing-game weaponry. It was just of little use to a unit that couldn't move the ball through the air.

White's big game couldn't have come at a better time for the Jets, not just because New York had lost two of three. With New England losing at Minnesota on Thanksgiving, the Jets moved past the Patriots and into third place in the AFC East.

The Jets are also headed into an absolutely pivotal and brutal two-week road trip. Their validity as a contender may well be determined in Minnesota and Buffalo.

The Jets team we watched pitch and lurch around Gillette Stadium in Week 11 likely doesn't have much of a chance to beat the Vikings or Bills. Even if the defense plays lights out, that version of the offense was too limited to hang with the league's heavyweights.

However, if the Jets can get play like from White on any sort of consistent basis, it's a whole new ballgame. The Jets already had an elite defense and offensive weapons. All the Gang Green symphony needed was a conductor. A maestro who could lead the team into the postseason for the first time since 2011.

Mike White just might be that guy.

And these Jets could well be a tough out the rest of the way this season.

The New York Jets are reportedly hopeful Zach Wilson will take back over as their starting quarterback at some point this season.

The second-year quarterback was benched in favor of Mike White for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears. Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported Wilson's tenure is "definitely not over."

Later on Sunday, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported Wilson has "lost confidence in himself" and that the Jets had also lost confidence in him. Glazer noted Wilson will not return to the starting lineup until he regains his confidence.

Wilson, 23, missed the first three games of this season because of a meniscus tear and a bone bruise in his right knee. Veteran Joe Flacco took over in his stead, leading the Jets to a 1-2 record.

Wilson struggled in his 2021 rookie season, throwing for 2,334 yards, nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing just 55.6 percent of his passes. He took 44 sacks, and the Jets went 3-10 in his 13 starts.

But with the addition of rookie wideout Garrett Wilson and rookie running back Breece Hall, there was the expectation that the Jets would be more dangerous on offense in 2022, offering their young quarterback far more weapons. In turn, the hope was that Wilson would take a big step forward in his sophomore campaign.

Instead, it's been an unmitigated disaster. Wilson has thrown for 1,279 yards and four touchdowns against five interceptions while seemingly losing the locker room in the process. After throwing for just 77 yards in last week's loss to the New England Patriots, Wilson refused to take any responsibility for the loss—a move that caused frustration among Jets teammates.

Wilson apologized to teammates this week and addressed the situation with reporters.

"It was the only thing I could think of the last couple of days," Wilson said. "I wanted the opportunity to talk to those guys and really make it from the heart."

Now the Jets turn to White, who has not appeared in a game this season. White threw for 953 yards and five touchdowns against eight interceptions while playing in Wilson's stead in 2021. Flacco will serve as his backup after moving behind White on the depth chart.

Through the first three weeks, Flacco threw for 901 yards, five scores and three interceptions, completing 58.7 percent of his passes while taking nine sacks.

It wasn't an elite showing, but it was good enough to help the Jets memorably steal a Week 2 comeback win over the Cleveland Browns.

The Jets will hope White provides similar magic moving forward.

Buffalo Bills pass-rusher Von Miller has been ruled out for the remainder of Buffalo's road game against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving after leaving in the second quarter.

The initial diagnosis for #Bills star Von Miller is a knee sprain, source said. That would be a good outcome. No one has ruled out a more serious injury, but some hope. He has an MRI and other tests tomorrow to confirm.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 24, 2022

CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson (h/t Albert Breer of The MMQB) reported that Miller would miss the rest of the game with a knee injury. Chris Brown of the Bills' official website noted Miller was carted off the field.

Von Miller had to be carted off after suffering an apparent leg injury

Prayers up 🙏

(via @CBSSports)pic.twitter.com/C8wfbjAMGz

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 24, 2022

Miller signed a six-year, $120 million deal with the Bills in March after helping the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl last season. The Rams acquired him midseason from the Denver Broncos.

The 33-year-old had an impressive 2021 campaign with the Rams, recording five sacks, one forced fumble, 31 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits in eight games. Between the Rams and Broncos, he finished the season with 9.5 sacks, one forced fumble, 50 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits in 15 games.

Miller has continued that success in Buffalo, recording a team-high eight sacks entering Thursday, along with two pass breakups, 20 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and 11 quarterback hits in 10 games. He has anchored a defense that has been depleted by injuries.

Losing Miller for any period of time wouldn't be great for the Bills, who entered play Thursday with a 7-3 record.

Buffalo was also without its second- and third-leading sack artists (Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa, respectively) thanks to injury, meaning Boogie Basham and Shaq Lawson will be tasked with picking up the slack off the edge, as well as Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips up the middle.

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh still has high hopes for Zach Wilson despite Wednesday's benching.

"Zach's career here is not over," Saleh told reporters Wednesday. "I know that's gonna be the narrative, I know that's what everyone wants to shout out and that's not even close to the case. The intent, the full intent, is to make sure Zach gets back onto the football field at some point this year."

Saleh believes Wilson needs a "reset" after his recent struggles.

Mike White is slated to start for the Jets in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears, while veteran Joe Flacco will be the backup.

The Jets are 5-2 this season with Wilson as a starter, but the second-year player has just a 72.6 quarterback rating this season with four touchdown passes and five interceptions.

Wilson especially struggled in the 10-3 loss to the New England Patriots last game, finishing 9-of-22 for 77 yards.

Saleh described the offense as "dog s--t" after the game.

There are still high hopes for Wilson as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft. The former BYU quarterback has displayed his upside in the past with his athleticism and strong arm, but consistency remains an issue.

White is also unlikely to take over the job full time with just three starts in his career since being drafted in 2018.

It provides an opening for Wilson to regain his role as the team's starter down the line.

Delayed gratification could be the theme for Buffalo Bills running back James Cook.

Expectations were understandably high when the Bills selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. Taking a running back that high is a strong endorsement.

And while Cook didn't have a prolific college career (230 carries, 1,503 yards and 14 touchdowns in four seasons), his workload at Georgia meant his best days might be ahead of him.

Instead, the 23-year-old has run for 169 yards and one touchdown on 33 carries. His seven receptions for 96 yards have done little to help his fantasy football value.

The Bills also acquired Nyheim Hines from the Indianapolis Colts in the middle of the season. Through Hines has logged just 10 offensive snaps with Buffalo, that's bound to change because the team wouldn't have executed the trade if it didn't believe he'd play a meaningful role in the offense.

For fantasy football managers with Cook on their rosters, there isn't much reason to consider trading him now unless a rival manager is willing to go above and beyond in the deal.

Devin Singletary is a free agent in the offseason, and his return shouldn't be considered a foregone conclusion.

As well as Singletary has performed through his first four years in Buffalo, the Bills could easily prefer to lean on a younger replacement who also costs less in 2023. And if Singletary leaves, then Cook will be the primary beneficiary.

Should that become a reality, Cook's value will climb significantly ahead of next year. You could either move forward with him as a regular contributor in your lineup or sell relatively high in a trade.

According to FantasyPros, the default 2022 fantasy trade deadline is Nov. 19 in Yahoo and CBS fantasy leagues, while ESPN's is Nov. 30.