Pats Pulpit
Despite entering Week 5 as massive underdogs, the New England Patriots managed to beat the Bills in Buffalo to carve out a major advantage in the race for the AFC East. Now, 10 weeks later, they need to repeat that feat in order to lock up the division and crown themselves champion for the first time since 2019.
For a victory in the rematch with Buffalo, however, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel will need to bring its A-game. The Bills, after all, are far from dead and stayed the course even after losing to New England earlier in the year: at 9-4, they still have a chance to win their sixth straight division title, and a victory on Sunday would help boost their chances to snatch the top spot away from the Patriots after all.
As always when going up against an opponent of that quality, a complete game is need in all three phases. That said, our eyes will be on a handful of players in particular: considering the circumstances and opponent, here are our pivotal Patriots for Sunday’s game.
The Bills run defense has improved slightly over the course of the season, but it is still ranked toward the bottom of the league in efficiency categories such as yards per carry (5.1) and EPA per run (0.045). For New England and its lead running back, this presents an opportunity.
Rhamondre Stevenson has had an up-and-down year so far; he missed time with a toe injury and fumbled three times over the first five weeks of the season, but also has contributed some big plays as a runner and receiver while additionally showing some good pass protection. Considering Buffalo’s defensive weaknesses, one would expect him to be in line for a solid game. Then again, despite scoring two touchdowns, Stevenson was a relative non-factor in the first meeting between those two teams.
In his first ever trip back to Orchard Park, Diggs was the most impactful skill position player on the field. Catching 10 passes for 146 yards in Week 5, he willed the Patriots to victory over his former team. To repeat as victors in front of the Gillette Stadium crowd, a similar performance would go a long way.
A veteran of 11 NFL seasons, Diggs knows that no two games are alike. That does not mean there are no lessons to be taken away from his first meeting with the Bills in October either
“That was a long time ago,” he said this week. “A lot of things have happened throughout this season that we kind of learned from. Even that game — we learned a lot from that game and we were like, ‘Damn, if we had this back, we would have done this differently. We would have done that differently.’ But all is well ends well when you win the game. You learn a lot throughout the season that’s going to help you towards the...
