For a considerable period, the Buffalo Bills have maintained an advantage over the New York Jets, making it difficult to classify the contest as a genuine divisional rivalry. Buffalo has emerged victorious in the AFC East for four consecutive years, while the Jets’ unsatisfactory third-place finish in 2023 was still their best performance since 2019, a far cry from their aspirations when quarterback Aaron Rodgers first joined the team. Rodgers, who suffered an Achilles injury after only four snaps in the season opener, which led to the Jets’ stunning upset over the Bills, will be returning to rekindle Gang Green’s aspirations of unseating Buffalo in 2024.
During the 2023 season, the Buffalo Bills and Jets split their series, but Buffalo’s offensive tackle, Dion Dawkins, didn’t hold back on expressing his disdain towards his divisional rival. Dawkins, who was involved in a postgame altercation during their November game, went into detail about why he dislikes the Jets. The Bills and Jets have decades of history that contribute to any animosity between the two teams. In a recent interview on VladTV, Dawkins expressed his hatred towards the entire team, except for a few players and staff members. He believes that the Jets play the sport to be cool and take pictures for Instagram. Dawkins, who has faced off against Gang Green with Buffalo for all seven of his NFL seasons, drew inspiration from their Week 11 meeting, where the Bills won 32-6. He specifically called out Jets defensive end, Michael Clemons, for coming over to Buffalo’s sideline during the second half and yelling obscenities at multiple players. Dawkins, who is Josh Allen’s blindside protector, drew the line at anyone coming after his quarterback.
When asked about the scene in the tunnel at the end of the contest, Dawkins simply stated, “Weirdos being weird.” He refused to give any credit to the man who caused the disturbance, but did mention number 72, Michael Clemons, calling him a derogatory term.
According to Dawkins, Clemons had come over to the Buffalo sideline during the second half and began yelling obscenities at multiple players, including quarterback Josh Allen. Dawkins, as Allen’s protector, was not going to tolerate that behavior and made it clear that Clemons should stay away from his quarterback.
In the fourth quarter, Dawkins expressed his discontent by blocking Clemons to the ground and then “belly flopping” on him. This resulted in a fine for unnecessary roughness and a chippy fourth quarter that led to teammates having to separate the two in the tunnel after the game.
Dawkins expressed his dislike for Clemons and the rest of the Jets, except for Quinnen Williams, whom he respected. The incident is sure to add to the drama when the Jets and Bills face off in the future.
