ORCHARD PARK - Clearly, a Week 6 victory, even though it was against an AFC East rival where the winner would walk off the field in first place in the division, was not a must-win situation for the Buffalo Bills.

Still, their 23-20 defeat of the New York Jets Monday night was nothing to sniff at and was meaningful in several ways.

First and foremost, it prevented what would have been a disastrous 0-3 road trip that included losses to a pair of AFC Super Bowl contenders, the Ravens and Texans, an 0-3 trip that would have essentially offset the Bills’ promising 3-0 start.

But perhaps more important, the Bills showed the type of resolve and resiliency that has marked their current run of division dominance over the previous four years. Of course there have been a few disappointments during that time, especially in the postseason, but for the most part when the Bills have needed to win a big game, they have done so dating back to 2020.

This was one of those games. In winning this game against an opponent that has given them trouble in the recent past, and an opponent that certainly had plenty to play for given that they were being led by a new head coach as Jeff Ulbrich replaced the fired Robert Saleh.

The first-game new coach bump as we like to call it did not play out for the Jets, because the Bills - despite playing a pretty sloppy game in every phase - found a way to get it done which is a good sign moving forward.

“Thought it was a gritty win,” coach Sean McDermott said, acknowledging that, “We have a lot to clean up.”

When the NFL schedule was released in May, most Bills fans would have signed up for a 4-2 start because outside of the opener at home against Arizona, it looked like the next five – including four on the road, four in prime time ‒ were going to be difficult tests. Yes, the Dolphins losing Tua Tagovailoa helped the Bills win down there, and the Jaguars, a team many felt would be a playoff contender, have proven to be a disaster so that helped the Bills start 3-0.

The next three, though, proved to be every bit as tough as we thought and while the Bills won only one, it was the most important of the three because it came against the Jets, their division rival.

“Our No. 1 goal is to make the playoffs, and you do that by winning in your division,” Josh Allen said. “So we understand the gravity of this type of game, us being 4-2 with a 2 ½-game lead with the head-to-head win, as opposed to being 3-3 and being in second place. Big game for us in terms of where it stands.”

There are no easy games in the NFL, regardless of what the records say, but the Bills certainly have a more palatable month in front of them, starting Sunday when they host the struggling 1-4 Tennessee Titans, a team the Bills obviously can’t overlook, but certainly a team they should handle at Highmark Stadium.

Here are three questions I have heading into the game:

1. Can the Bills defense stop giving up big plays?

In 17 games last year, the Bills allowed 55 running plays of 10 yards or more which was 10th-most in the league, and they finished 28th in yards allowed per carry at 4.6. Obviously, those numbers were not great, but it has gotten much worse in 2024. Through six games they’ve already been gouged for 26 runs of at least 10 yards which is tied for second-most in the NFL, and their 5.3 yield per rush is dead last.

Monday night, New York's Breece Hall had three 10-plus runs including a 42-yarder, and the Jets also had 12 pass plays of more than 10 yards. Over the past three weeks, McDermott’s defense has allowed a rather stunning total of 47 run and pass plays that gained 10 or more yards which simply isn’t a recipe for continued success.

“In order to execute one play, it's important that there is alignment with everyone being on the same page of what this play is designed to do and why we're doing it and how we need to do it so that there is a true connection from one player who plays next to another player who plays next to another player,” McDermott said.

That was a long and convoluted way of saying that on the majority of plays in an NFL game, even if just one or maybe two players does not carry out his assignment properly, then big plays can happen and in the last three weeks, this has been far too commonplace for the Bills.

Perhaps Sunday against Tennessee the Bills can get this under control. They are facing a struggling Titans offense with underwhelming and seemingly overmatched QB Will Levis killing his team with mistakes. The Titans rank 31st in the NFL in passing yards per game at 135.0 and Levis has thrown a league-high seven interceptions. And on the ground, Tennessee ranks 17th at 4.4 yards per rush with Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears doing the bulk of the running, and they have just 16 runs of 10 or more yards.

2. Does Josh Allen now have what he needs to succeed?

The acquisition of wide receiver Amari Cooper is a move that Brandon Beane knew he had to make, so he did. It cost him a 2025 third-round pick, and I’m sure his superstar quarterback said something like, “Yeah, I don’t care.” Nor should Allen.

While Allen will never throw his guys under the bus the way Aaron Rodgers did Monday night, deep down, you know Allen recognized that there was not enough talent in the wide receiver room and all he, Beane, McDermott and anyone else needed for proof were the fist six games of the season.

Coming off his nightmarish 9-for-30 meltdown in the loss to Houston, Allen was much more effective against a Jets defense that has often frustrated him. He completed 19 of 25 for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and he still hasn’t thrown an interception on 156 attempts to start the season which, for Allen, is quite a thing.

Still, the problems with his receivers being unable to consistently get open was prevalent, and what was worrisome Monday is that the Jets didn’t have excellent nickel corner Michael Carter, and then during the game they lost veteran safety Chuck Clark, and D.J. Reed who, according to Pro Football Focus is the No. 1 outside cornerback in the NFL. And yet, even in victory, the wide receivers were not all that productive as they totaled nine catches on 12 targets for 97 yards and it was a bit of a slog in the second half as the Bills managed only three points on four possessions before they kneeled out the clock.

With the addition of Cooper, a player who has spent nearly 10 years in the NFL winning on his routes, Allen has a No. 1-type target who should take some of the heat off players like Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel.

“Well those qualities are important,. Having the ability to get separation I think just adds to our flavor on offense,” McDermott said. “We've been doing some good things. I think that will be an added bonus for us as we move forward here.”

3. Will Ray Davis cut into James Cook’s workload?

Based on what happened in the Meadowlands, absolutely he should, but not for the reason you think.

Look, let’s not forget that Cook is a tremendous back. Heading into Week 6 he was 15th in the NFL in both rushing yards (302) and yards gained from scrimmage (432). He was a big part of Buffalo’s first three victories, on the heels of a breakout 2023 season he finished sixth in the league (third among running backs) in yards from scrimmage.

But if you remember, down the stretch in 2023 when the Bills were leaning hard into the run game after Joe Brady became the offensive coordinator, Cook had one huge game against the Cowboys (179 yards), but in the other eight games counting the postseason with Brady calling the plays, his highest rushing output was 79 yards against the Steelers in the wild-card round.

He touched the ball a whopping 325 times and I think he wore down late in the year, so in order to preserve him, now that the fourth-round rookie Davis has proven he can be an effective player, he should definitely mix in more frequently when Cook returns, perhaps as early as Sunday.

Davis carried 20 times for 97 yards and caught three passes for 55 yards, a 152-yard output. Cook’s best game this year was 103 total yards against the Cardinals.

The 190-pound Cook is a slasher, a guy who can slither through creases to gain most of his yardage; the 220-pound Davis runs angry and hard, which is exactly what the Bills saw when they scouted him in college which led to them picking him. On the night of the draft, Brandon Beane said Davis could be a nice complement to Cook because of their varying styles, and moving forward, the Bills should incorporate a shared workload into the run ,game plan.

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. Subscribe to his Bills newsletter at https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast.

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs Titans questions: Will Ray Davis cut into James Cook’s time?