Week 15 will see an important game for the New England Patriots as they take on the Buffalo Bills. In the first matchup between the two teams, the Patriots narrowly won with a 23-20 victory. Should the Patriots win again this week, they would clinch the AFC East for the first time since 2019.
Both teams will look different from what they did in the first meeting. Back in Week 12, Patriots starting left tackle Will Campbell was injured with a Grade 3 MCL sprain, and he was placed on IR. On a positive note for Campbell, he was one of the biggest winners from the Patriots' late bye, though he will miss the Week 15 game. The Patriots' depth will be tested further with one injury setback that happened on Thursday.
Harold Landry doesn't practice with knee injury
After logging limited practice on Wednesday, starting linebacker Harold Landry didn't practice due to a knee injury, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. Landry was one of the many offseason additions to the team, reuniting with his new Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel, who coached Landry from 2018 to 2023 as the Tennessee Titans head coach. On the season, Landry has 46 total tackles and leads the Patriots in total sacks with 7.5.
Being downgraded a day after being limited isn't a good sign that Landry will suit up on Sunday. If Landry were to miss the game, both Anfrenee Jennings and Elijah Ponder would be candidates for an increased role.
Jennings has been with the Patriots since being drafted in the third round in the 2020 draft. Under Vrabel this year, Jennings hasn't found his footing, only appearing in 10 of the team's 13 games so far. Now that Landry may miss the game, Jennings could have the opportunity to elevate his play again.
After going undrafted in the 2025 NFL draft, Elijah Ponder would sign with the Patriots. During the first 10 weeks of the season, he hadn't seen the field much, with the highest percentage of snaps coming in Week 7, where he played 25% of snaps. In the past three games, however, Ponder's snap count percentage has increased in each game, going from 28% in Week 11, 31% in Week 12, and 53% in Week 13.
Given the rise in snaps these past three games, he clearly has the trust of the coaching staff. Without Landry, it wouldn't be shocking to see Ponder set another new season high in snap percentage.
Beating Buffalo was always going to be tough, but the team will need to be ready to play from the opening kickoff, given some of the injury issues the team is facing. New England isn't the only one with injury concerns in the game, as a Bills defender's health could see Drake Maye have his best game yet.