3 bold predictions for the New England Patriots Wild Card matchup
New England Patriots bold prediction No. 1: New England heads onto the Divisional Round
This is going to be a dogfight, and while many are counting out the Patriots, I’d say it’s an extremely shortsighted misstep on their part. I’m not going to outright declare the Pats are going to win, but this isn’t going to be a blowout for either side.
Many folks are fixated on the Patriots end of the season struggles, and those are admittedly justified. The team shot themselves in the foot against both the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins multiple times, and threw away their division lead in a span of two weeks. But it’s not as if Buffalo throttled lesser teams such as the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets to close out the season.
There are a lot of recent developments that go New England’s way as well. The cold weather plays right into the Pats power run game, and while it won’t completely eliminate the passing game as the 40 mph winds did in their first matchup, it will pose a significant barrier for both sides. On the other hand, Allen has been much worse playing at home this season, and his passing numbers over the final two games don’t exactly inspire confidence (35/71, 359 YDS, 2 TD, 3 INT).
The Bills are admittedly a more talented team, but talent on paper doesn’t always translate to wins. Beating Bill Belichick led teams twice in one season is tough to do, and while the Bills dominated this team the last time they faced, they haven’t exactly been the face of consistency this season. It’s going to be tough for them to replicate their gameplan from their previous win over New England.
Next. 3 keys to beating the Bills in the Wild Card round. dark
The Patriots already know they can run the ball all over the Bills defense, but they are going to need to get contributions up and down their roster in this one, primarily from Jones and their secondary. It’s probably not a stretch to say that whichever team wins the turnover battle will win this game. If so, it’s a good thing Jackson got that interception like I said earlier. Final Score – New England: 20 Buffalo: 16