Bring on the New England Patriots.
The Buffalo Bills can repeat as AFC East champions and ensure at least one home playoff game by winning their final three games of the regular season, beginning with a rematch against the Evil Empire on the day after Christmas in Foxborough.
“We all know who we have next week,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. “It’s no secret. … Every game from here on out for us is a playoff game, and we’ve got to treat it as such.”
The division lead is on the line after the Bills took care of business against the undermanned Carolina Panthers, winning 31-14 on Sunday at Highmark Stadium. The Patriots lost at Indianapolis 27-17 on Saturday night, which snapped their seven-game winning streak.
The run included the Patriots’ odd, 14-10 victory against the Bills on Dec. 6 in Orchard Park, when a national television audience watched New England pile up 222 rushing yards on 46 carries on Monday Night Football, while rookie quarterback Mac Jones attempted just three passes because of the intense winds coming off Lake Erie.
The Bills were then upended by Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-27 in overtime Dec. 12, after poor play in the first half required Buffalo to rally from 21 points down to tie the game. It was the first time the Bills had lost consecutive games since Week 4 and 5 last season, though they continued to cling to the AFC’s final playoff berth. The Patriots had a bye before their loss to the Colts.
“These last two weeks have been hard,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “We’ve got a lot of competitive guys in that locker room and they want to win, and to come up short the last two weeks, against two good football teams, especially with a chance to win it in the fourth quarter, those are tough. So hopefully, down the stretch we will have learned from those situations and gotten better as a football team.”
A victory at New England would give the Bills the inside track to the division title, with their final two games at home against the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) and New York Jets (3-10). The Bills and Pats would be tied atop the division, and would have split the season series, but Buffalo would have the tiebreaker based on division record.
A loss would leave the Bills hoping for a wild-card berth.
The Patriots finish the regular season with a home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-11) and a road trip to take on the Miami Dolphins (6-7).
“I think a lot of guys had the (Patriots) game on last night and watched the Colts go up early on and kind of force them to get one-dimensional and throw the ball that way,” defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said. “So, we have some good film to break down. We know what they did against us, so if they want to copycat that again, we’ll try to be more prepared. And then also, we see the advantage of going up early, how that forces their hand.
“We’re going to enjoy the victory here for a day and get our bodies right and then lock in.”
New England had won seven consecutive games against the Bills and 30 of the previous 33 before Buffalo swept the season series last year. Of course, that Patriots’ dynasty is over, with Brady leading the Bucs to a Super Bowl victory last season.
But Bill Belichick continues to prove he’s one of the game’s great coaches by leading a disciplined group back from a tough start to the season and into contention for the top seed in the conference.
Can the Bills beat the Patriots in New England?
Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, who were a topic of national conversation two weeks ago after their over-the-top reaction to being asked whether they were embarrassed by the way they lost to New England, offered little more than brief comments about the rematch with the Patriots despite a barrage of questions Sunday.
Defensive end Efe Obada, who twice sacked Cam Newton, was blunt about the lasting impression after the Bills were gouged on the ground in the first meeting.
“That loss is still fresh in our minds,” Obada said.
“We’ll do absolutely everything we can to make sure we don’t feel that way again,” Phillips added.
Buffalo didn’t prove much by defeating Carolina, which has lost four consecutive games and nine of its last 11.
The Bills have now beaten six teams playing backup quarterbacks this season, with the Panthers trotting out the remaining shell of Cam Newton, who was sitting at home until he signed with the team in November, after Sam Darnold was injured.
The Panthers were also without star running back Christian McCaffrey, relying instead on rookie Chuba Hubbard. Newton led Carolina on the ground with 71 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
The Panthers also didn’t have a kicker after Zane Gonzalez was injured in pregame warmups, which forced Carolina to go for two after each touchdown and abandon any hope of kicking field goals. The Panthers turned the ball over on downs four times, including twice in field goal range at the Bills’ 24- and 10-yard lines and twice near midfield. They converted just one fourth down.
The Bills won, despite contending with the usual issues of penalties and poor pass protection – exacerbated by left tackle Dion Dawkins and guard Jon Feliciano missing the game after testing positive for Covid-19. Feliciano tested positive Sunday morning, requiring the Bills to reshuffle the front five at the last minute.
Allen looked fine a week after leaving Tampa with a walking boot on his sprained left foot. He completed 19 of 34 pass attempts for 210 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Gabriel Davis caught two touchdowns, giving him four in three weeks. And Devin Singletary ran for a season-high 86 yards and a score on a career-high 22 attempts.
Allen said he watched only a little bit of the Patriots’ loss on Saturday night, joking that it was past his bedtime. Then he defaulted to a couple of the usual cliches about how it’s a week-to-week league.
“It gives us an opportunity and we understand that,” Allen said, “so our next one is our most important one.”
That’s unequivocally true.
