What a busy Tuesday in Pats Nation (or Bill’s Mafia as Doug Kyed penned) yesterday was. The Patriots dealt away TE AJ Derby, my training camp binky, to the Broncos for a 5th round pick in 2017, and traded for Lions LB Kyle Van Noy and a 7th rounder in exchange for a 6th rounder. We won’t get into draft/trade talk here, but just keep in mind BB might not be done wheeling and dealing just yet.
The Bills have slowly turned into a worthy adversary, being the only real contender in the AFC East. Sexy Rexy is notorious for throwing his best at Tom Brady and the Buffalo offense has come to life under an inspired running game. This will be a great challenge for Brady and Co.
Here is everything you need to know about The Buffalo Bills aka, “The Only Team to stop Jacoby Brissett”
Week 8 at Buffalo Bills
Sunday October 30
1 pm EST, CBS
Low 50’s 80% chance of rain, 16 mph winds
Opponent/Patriots Stats
Bills: 4-3
Notable Games: In Week 2 Rex Ryan fired then OC Greg Roman and since their Week 4 shut out win against NE, the Bills have turned it around and proved their worth.
Common Opponents: Arizona Cardinals (Both teams won), Miami Dolphins (Pats won, Bills lost).
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Recent games vs. Pats: Week 2 of 2015 (NE 40-32), Week 11 of 2015 (NE 20-13), and of course, Week 4 of 2016 (BUF 16-0)
Notable Players
Tyron Taylor QB: 116/192, 60.4% completion, 1,297 yds, 11 total TDs, 2 INTs, 271 rush yds, 3 fumbles
LeSean McCoy RB: 112 carries, 598 yds, 5.3 avg, 6 TDs, 2 fumbles
Robert Woods WR: 25 rec, 240 yds, 9.6, 1 TD
Marquise Goodwin WR: 12 rec, 258 yds, 21.5 avg, 3 TDs
Injury Alerts
Patriots:
Vincent Valentine, the rookie DT sat out yet another game last week versus the Steelers. Ironically, we haven’t seen him since the last time New England played Buffalo. He’s been dealing with a back injury. It would be nice to have a big strong guy like Valentine back in action for this game so lets hope we can take him off the injury report this week.
Woodrow Hamilton may be doing great in the NFL Name Olympics, but it’s the same old song and dance with him. His shoulder made him inactive again last week so he hasn’t seen game action since Brady’s triumphant return to the homeland.
Last week, we saw Jamie Collins return from a hip injury, and Brandon Bolden from a knee injury to see significant snaps on Sunday.
Bills:
LeSean McCoy was injured going into last week’s game versus the Dolphins and knew he would be on a snap count. McCoy didn’t end up finishing the game, spotted on the sideline with a wrap on his left hamstring. McCoy told the media that he didn’t aggravate the injury, but he wanted to play it safe. McCoy‘s availability is obviously in doubt for this weekend but even if he plays it is unclear how effective he could be.
Robert Woods is a classic “Patriot Killer,” meaning he is a player who has his most success against New England but is generally a JAG (just another guy) normally. Some favorite Patriot Killers in the past have been WR Wes Welker (Dolphins), and TE Scott Chandler (Buffalo). Woods was inactive last week against Miami for the first time this season but he’s been dealing with a foot injury for a while now. Woods didn’t practice all of last week so it is unclear how likely it is Woods will play.
Marcell Dareus has been battling a hamstring injury for a while now and was ruled by Ryan as questionable for this upcoming game. Dareus will be one to monitor in practice as he is an incredibly effective compliment to DT Kyle Williams. Keep a close eye on Dareus on the injury report.
Key Matchups:
Patriots:
vs. WR1: 16th —– vs. Malcolm Butler vs. Robert Woods
vs. WR2: 18th —– Logan Ryan vs. Marquise Goodwin
vs. TE: 24th —– Devin McCourty vs. Charles Clay
vs. RB: 15th —– Jamie Collins vs. LeSean McCoy
Bills:
vs. WR1: 31st —– Julian Edelman vs. Stephon Gilmore
vs. WR2: 5th —– Chris Hogan vs. Ronald Darby
vs. TE: 23rd —– Rob Gronkowski vs. Aaron Williams
vs. RB: 13th —– James White vs. Preston Brown
For comparisons sake, Buffalo has gotten worse in every category on defense since the teams last met in Week 4. New England has fluctuated but isn’t too far off. You can compare the stats here.
What’s at stake?
The Patriots have a pretty commanding lead in the AFC East at 6-1, but two division losses to the same opponent would be a tough challenge for the team to overcome. That isn’t to say that they still couldn’t have a first round bye in the playoffs if they lose this weekend but it would take a lot of control out of the Patriots’ hands come December. The sooner they can win and wrap up their playoff seeding, the sooner they can wrap up their star players until it’s time for the postseason.
Early thoughts:
The Bills have turned into a legitimately good team this season in a year filled with undeniable mediocrity. New England might be fortunate to see Buffalo without star RB LeSean McCoy and Robert Woods, their current top WR. If Valentine or Hamilton don’t play, watch out. The run defense will be key here as the Bills don’t go if they can’t run the ball. Ninkovich didn’t play in this game the last time the teams met so that might make the difference on the edge with whoever Buffalo has in the backfield. Oh and some guy named Brady will be out there this time too. There’s a lot of pressure trying to fill the void Jacoby Brissett left after the last game but let’s give him a chance. He seems special.