Jets vs. Bills: 3 things to watch

The first game of the Percy Harvin era has arrived and ridiculous levels of hype have followed.

Harvin is expected to transform this Jets offense, which is the second-worst passing unit in the league.While he can do a lot of good things for this offense due to the fact that in open space, he can be lethal, the Jets still actually have to get him the ball.

The Bills have won two of their last three, but also turned in a dud at the lowly Texans Week 4.

Metro takes a look at three storylines to watch as the Jets host the Bills on Sunday (1 p.m., CBS).

1. Ready for Harvin

Harvin can do a little bit of everything, ranging from being a deep threat as a wide receiver to someone who can at times run the ball out of the backfield and contribute on special teams. Harvin can stretch the field, but more than anything he will balance the offense. In all likelihood, it will be fellow wide receivers Eric Decker and Jeremy Kerley who will most benefit from the attention Harvin will bring.

“I think having Percy is going to help this team in a lot of different ways,” head coach Rex Ryan said. “It’s hard to put everybody down there if you’re one-on-one on the outside and that includes with Decker over there as well.”

2. Orton ups Bills’ game

The Bills are 2-1 and the offense has been a tad bit more efficient since the team switched from E.J. Manuel to veteran Kyle Orton at quarterback.Orton completed 72 percent of his passes for 283 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in last week’s last-second win over the Vikings.

“Well I think it’s always a tough decision when you have to make any type of move — whether it be the quarterback or anyone else,” said Bills head coach Doug Marrone, a native of New York City. “But it goes by performance and we were looking for more production and E.J. has taken a step back.”

3.Run stuffers

The Bills defensive line has done a tremendous job this year in maintaining their gap assignments, which is a major reason why they’re fourth in the league against the run. Ryan praised his opponent’s defensive front and their ability to penetrate and limit the ground game, saying it is a major reason for the Bills’ strong start to this season. That’s bad news for a Jets team that has been overly reliant on the run game to spur the offense so far this season.

If the Jets can efficiently hammer at that line through the opening three quarters with running back Chris Ivory, then they can use heavy doses of Chris Johnson’s speed late in the game to open things up.

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.