Patriots vs Bills: 3 keys to victory ahead of divisional showdown
By John Hynes
No. 2 – New England Patriots defense must find a way to contain Josh Allen
The Patriots last two matchups with Buffalo were far from competitive, being outscored by 42 points total in just those two games.
Bill Belichick had no answer for Bills’ superstar quarterback Josh Allen, who amassed eight passing touchdowns and over 600 passing yards and between both games. An even more telling stat from these blowouts is that the Bills offense was not forced to punt in either game.
Allen is as good as quarterbacks get in this league and will surely be a handful for a Patriots defense that is coming off of one of their few shaky performances this season.
While the Bills have dominated the Patriots in the past couple matchups, they haven’t seen New England this year. This defense has shown flashes of the Patriots of old, toting a bruising front seven and a ball-hawking secondary.
Pressuring Josh Allen without breaking contain will be paramount in this game. He’ll burn you if he has all day to throw, but he is at his most dangerous when he gets outside of the pocket and can beat you with his playmaking ability.
Patriots edge rusher and NFL sack leader Matthew Judon is having a career year, and will be the man to watch on defense. If he can have a big game, Josh Allen and the Bills will struggle to match the success of their prior bouts with New England.