The Bills beat up on the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon, but coach Rex Ryan was hearing questions about another AFC East team when the game came to an end.
Ryan and the Bills will be in New Jersey on Thursday night for a game against the Jets that represents Ryan’s return to face the team he coached for six years before getting fired after the 2014 season. Ryan hasn’t been shy about expressing his opinion about just about anything over the years, but said on Sunday that he hasn’t thought about his return to MetLife Stadium once since leaving.
That doesn’t sound particularly true or human, but Ryan hinted at other feelings when he said he’d be treating it as just another game through at least the final whistle on Thursday.
“I promise you, it’s just another opponent right now,” Ryan said, via ESPN.com. “Now will that change when I’m in there? That’s a possibility. But I can tell you this -- it’s all about, you’re playing another team. And I know that team really well.But that’s really what it is. And it’s no more than that -- I can promise you. It’ll be the same way I’m answering it right now until at the end. Now after the game, that might change.”
Even without the revenge angle, there’s enough on the table to make this more than just another game for the Bills and Jets. At 5-3, the Jets are a game up on the Bills in the AFC East and, much more importantly given the Patriots’ 8-0 record, the Wild Card race in the AFC. A loss on Thursday would leave the Bills with a lot to do in the second half while needing a lot of help from others if they’re going to make the playoffs.
That’s plenty of motivation for the Bills, although we’re guessing that Ryan might play a more personal card or two while talking to the team this week.
