New England Patriots - NESN.com
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel believes the Buffalo Bills are a much different team since the last time they played.
The Patriots went on the road to Buffalo in Week 5 on Oct. 5 and picked up a 23-20 upset win. Since then, Buffalo’s offense has looked much different, as the Bills are relying more on the tight ends in the passing game, while their defense has also looked better.
Although New England won on the road, Vrabel isn’t looking back on that game as he believes the Bills are a much different team.
“They’ve changed, they’ve continued to evolve, and they’ve continued to improve,” Vrabel said on Wednesday. “And again, we talked about the respect that we have for them as a football team, players, and coaches. You just draw on some games here in the past. I mean, it was 20-10 in our game, they didn’t bat an eye, and they came back and tied it in the fourth quarter. We were up two scores in the fourth quarter. We needed our best execution and kick to win it.
“Whether it was the Tampa Bay game, being down and then winning the game, going away. Pittsburgh, down 7-3, and then really just played tremendous football in the second half. And then last week, two-score game with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter. So, never any panic over there. It’s a veteran team. They’re familiar with their program. So, however the game unfolds, we’ll have to do everything that we can to play the entire four quarters and then some if we need to.”
Vrabel knows the Patriots have to be well-prepared to beat Buffalo again, as he’s expecting a tough game on Sunday.
New England can also clinch the AFC East with a win on Sunday over Buffalo. But the Patriots are 1.5-point underdogs.
