Patriots (

17) at
Bills (

31)

Game Overview ::

By mike johnson >>

• New England’s defense is in the bottom three in the league, while Buffalo’s offense is a top-three unit.
• Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye has at least 18 fantasy points in six of his nine starts.
• Bills QB Josh Allen is averaging 22.5 fantasy points per game over the last two weeks…..as a rusher, not counting his passing stats.
• The lone bright spot of the Patriots defense has been lock-down cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
• The Bills defense is allowing only 17 points per game at home, while the Patriots offense has not scored 20 points in a road game yet this season.

How new england Will Try To Win ::

Does it matter? Sorry if that is too direct, but honestly it may not really matter how the Patriots try to win this game. Their offensive line is bottom-5 in the league, struggling to consistently protect the QB and ranking 24th in adjusted line yards per rush attempt. Early in the season, head coach Jerod Mayo talked about how this team’s priority was going to be to run the ball and stop the run. The problem is they aren’t able to do either. This week’s matchup against the Bills is not going to be one where they are likely to get things going, either. Buffalo has given up a couple of big games to power running teams with strong offensive lines, but the Patriots don’t qualify under that criteria. New England is ranked 32nd out of 32 teams in rushing offense DVOA and is unlikely to move the ball on the ground against a very good defense on the road.

If they can’t run it, can they throw it? Well, not really. The Patriots lack players who can separate and create easy throws while also lacking great “run after catch” or contested catch personnel. Really not a good mix for a team that, as previously discussed, can’t really run the ball. Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt spoke this week about how the Patriots have designed run plays that could utilize rookie QB Drake Maye’s legs, but they are choosing not to use them this year in a season that is already lost as they don’t want to put him in position to take any more hits than necessary. It makes sense but certainly isn’t fun to watch the team’s futile attempts to move the ball. Buffalo has the second lowest blitz rate in the league and does not create a high amount of pressure, but the Patriots offensive line tends to make opponents look better than they are. Buffalo also plays a high rate of zone coverages and does a great job of blanketing the perimeter and deep areas of the field. This should, as usual, lead the Patriots passing game to target their RBs, TEs, and slot maven Demario Douglas on the majority of their passes.

How buffalo Will Try To Win ::