Patriots v.s. Bills Round 1

This is a spot where we haven’t seen the Patriots for a very long time. 2-4 is usually the 2nd best record in the AFC east that we laugh about, and now we’re that team. It’s a good thing the Bills have played incredibly poorly coming into this game as well. They lost 2 in a row to good teams, and couldn’t manage to score a TD against the Jets last week. With the potential for 50 MPH winds this weekend, we can expect TDs to come at a premium this week as well.

The offense has been a sorry unit to this point this season. 2 field goals against a very banged up 49ers defense is sad. They’re going to have to run run run this weekend against Buffalo. Heavy winds are going to affect the passing game, which hasn’t even been good in calm weather. Plan on this game to be a fast one where a lot of clock gets eaten up on the ground. Damien Harris should rush for about 150 yards if they do this the right way. Cam should have more carries than pass attempts this weekend. They can’t go away from the run as early has they have the last few games.

The Bills will most likely be ready for this approach, with no Julian Edelman and most likely no N’Keal Harry with a concussion. Cam has had a hard enough time finding open receivers with everyone available. Having Damiere Byrd, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski as your top 3 receivers isn’t the best scenario. We should see more Asiasi and Keene on the field just for lack of other options. The big help in this run game will be having a relatively fully healthy offensive line back.

The defense might have a little help from the wind this week, but we also don’t know what’s up with Stephon Gilmore. If he is gone it will be a huge unexpected hit. They have the talent in the secondary to make up for it, but he was guaranteed to take away Diggs for most of the game. The biggest struggle will be keeping Josh Allen contained. When Allen is able to move the ball with his feet is when he is most dangerous. Devin Singletary has been less than impressive and it containable. If Allen is forced to throw too much, he’s bound to make some mistakes. They just need to keep this offense under control, and let the weather do the rest to hang in this game.

This is going to be another tough game to watch, but it may be a tough win to watch. 17-13 Pats.

-Jake Kobierski