Bills vs. Jets 2015 picks and predictions: Home team has the edge in key divisional battle

This week’s Thursday Night Football matchup is a rarity for Thursday nights: a game with real stakes. The 5-3 New York Jets host the 4-4 Buffalo Bills in a critical AFC East matchup with potential playoff implications.

If the Bills pull off the road win, they will be 5-4 with a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Jets (at least until the Week 17 rematch). If the Jets win, they move to 6-3 and would have a solid leg up in the AFC Wild Card race.

So with a lot on the line, naturally, both teams have injury concerns on a short week. Bills receiver Sammy Watkins continues to nurse a lingering ankle injury, although he played through it Sunday. He’ll have a rough go of things possibly going up against Darrelle Revis. At running back, LeSean McCoy has a shoulder strain, but he’s also expected to suit up this week. The good news for Buffalo is that Tyrod Taylor escaped Week 9 without any setbacks on the knee injury that forced him to miss two games previously.

For the Jets, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing through a torn ligament in his thumb. Fortunately for him, the injury is on his non-throwing hand, but Fitzpatrick is in enough pain that he’s considering surgery this Friday. The Jets will have 10 days until their next game, and it should be a relatively minor procedure, but even 10 days would be an aggressive timeline coming out of surgery.

Fitzpatrick’s load could be a lot lighter if Chris Ivory gets going again. Despite scoring two touchdowns last week, Ivory had just 26 rushing yards on 23 carries and has a lingering hamstring issue of his own.

This game has the makings of a low-scoring, defensive struggle, with no obvious favorite among the experts. At CBS Sports, it’s an even 4-4 split between the Bills and Jets. Here at SB Nation, there’s more of a consensus, with six of our seven experts picking the Jets at home.