The Buffalo Bills have not won more than 6 games since 2008. They will be looking to end that trend Sunday vs the Patriots and while many member of the Patriot following may laugh at the prospect of the Bills defeating their team, I caution you, the Bills are a much better team than you think.
Looking back at what happened in Week One, the Patriots narrowly escaped Buffalo victorious, winners of a last second 23-21 decision on a Stephan Gostkowski field goal. Looking back that was a real story-line game for both teams involved. The Patriots had lost their identity during the off-season watching Aaron Hernandez fall into fugitive status and Wes Welker fall into a Broncos jersey all while Rob Gronkowski continuously remained off the field as a result of off-season surgery. They needed a statement win to prove to their fans that the dynasty of the early 2000's had not completely burnt out.
The aura around the Bills need for a win was very different. Having not won a playoff game since 1995, their fans had fairly become impatient and were clamoring for success. The Bills had dumped their longtime interception prone QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick during the off-season while drafting 23 year old EJ Manuel as his replacement. If the Bills were going to at least make a run at the very least a 8 or 9 win season, a victory over the dominant Patriots would be a great place to start.
As much as the experts predicted a landslide victory for New England, Tom Brady who despite throwing 2 touchdowns in the first half finished the 3rd quarter and went into the 4th looking to the scoreboard and undoubtedly recognized the rarity of the 18-17 Buffalo lead.
As we all know, New England would eventually erase that 1 point deficit to win the game but nevertheless, the Bills took it down to the wire giving the Patriots a run for their money and while 16 weeks later they still sit last in the AFC East, they have only gotten better.
Patriots coach, Bill Belichick seems most worried about the Bills resiliency more than anything else. “[They] lost to us on the last play (23-21), lost to the Jets on the last possession (27-20), and won three games in the division,” Belichick said on Tuesday, before the team’s practice. “I’m really impressed with the way they’ve been playing, obviously the way they played last week against Miami.”
Last week, in Miami, a Bills team that had since been eliminated from playoff contention effectively knocked Miami out of the playoffs via a dominant 19-0 win in which the Bills line-backing core was dominant at downing Ryan Tannahill and forcing quick throws, the majority of which went for blatant in-completions. If such a trend continues, this Patriots offensive line that has had trouble keeping Tom Brady upright at several points in the season may be in trouble.
As for the Patriots defense as it pairs up against the Bills offence, in the case that EJ Manuel makes his first start since a knee injury back in Week 10, the long ball play that has ripped the Patriots apart all season will at least be a diminished threat as Manuel's longest completion of the season went for just 45 yards. Belichick however was not taking any chances Tuesday at practice.
"We’ve certainly put a lot of time and work into it," Belichick said. "It could definitely be better, but it hasn’t been anywhere close to the issue it was last year, thank God."
"Obviously the players are doing a good job, but we’ve spent a lot of time on the deep part of the field because it’s so critical. Hopefully we can continue to play fairly well back there, because it’s just so important. When it all happens in one play, there’s nothing else you can do, there’s no chance of stopping them in the red area. It also takes a lot of other people out of the game, too, there’s nothing a nose guard can do about a go pattern, [or] an inside linebacker, those plays are so far behind them, it kind of takes them out of the game."
"Obviously the players are doing a good job, but we’ve spent a lot of time on the deep part of the field because it’s so critical. Hopefully we can continue to play fairly well back there, because it’s just so important. When it all happens in one play, there’s nothing else you can do, there’s no chance of stopping them in the red area. It also takes a lot of other people out of the game, too, there’s nothing a nose guard can do about a go pattern, [or] an inside linebacker, those plays are so far behind them, it kind of takes them out of the game."
For those who doubt the Bills, you are uninformed. The Buffalo Bills are better than they seem and if the Patriots do not recognize that, they will loose.
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