Monday night all eyes will be on the AFC East. The Buffalo Bills travel to New England to play the Patriots for the second time this season. “Does that give us an opportunity to win the division? No”, Ryan said matter-of-factly. “They’ve won a few rings. We’re down a bunch of tackles and guys are playing out of position, and I think we just keep grinding our way through it. You’ve got to find different ways to win”.
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Perhaps someone on the conference call thought about pointing this out (OK, that would have been unprofessional), but Ryan was already in a testy mood and probably didn’t need further prodding. Of course that wasn’t his point at all. You want to catch them off guard but if you get them hyped for the game? I think I have great understanding of our guys and all that. Their last game was a 22-17 escape against another AFC East rival, the NY Jets, at the MetLife Stadium on November 12th, as per Sports Illustrated. Absolutely. Do I want to beat them more than any team we face? The Patriots beat the Bills 40-32 in the first meeting of the season back in week two. Holcomb even manages to hit a big one, his 55-yard touchdown pass to Eric Moulds putting the Bills ahead 10-7 early in the third quarter. Last week, he said of Brady: “What is wrong with him?” “I mean they still have No. 12 throwing the ball so it doesn’t really matter”, he said. So you guys should talk to somebody else who’s got a better record than I do against them.
Ryan knows this, and it’s on him, his coaches, and his players, to do a better job. Ryan asked before providing an answer to his own question. Amendola continued his trend of making big play after big play in the Patriots uniform. “The only thing I’m focusing on is beating them right now on Monday night”. “The only thing I can say is what I said then, just hold on to the ball”. Sorry to say to Bills’ fans but this is going to be one of those games that you might not want to be excited about.
He has not got the slickness or ability in a confined space of Lewis but might provide Brady with a useful passing option out of the backfield to go along with White’s graft on the ground.
SERIES HISTORY: 111th regular-season meeting. Hemmed in the pocket a good portion of the time, Taylor was sacked a season-high eight times in the first matchup with New England. But as analyst Matt Sabuda points out, as long as quarterback Tom Brady is healthy, the Patriots will remain a formidable foe. Last week the Bills were able to gash the NFL’s top rushing defense for 148 yards.
Bills rookie running back Karlos Williams, a fifth-round pick out of Florida State, has proven to be one of the best late-round steals of the 2015 Draft. The Patriots are without No. 1 receiver Julian Edelman after he broke his foot in Week 11.
If, and when the Bills stir up pressure against Brady, the much improved secondary will key in on WR Danny Amendola and TE Rob Gronkowski. Each defense has a weak side, with the Bills having a weaker run defense and the Pats being weaker on the pass. At the end of the day, it’s tough to see the Patriots losing this game.
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Stopping, or at least slowing, McCoy will be the focus of the Patriots, who are allowing a meager 2.8 yards a carry in the past four games.
