The 1-2 New England Patriots are staying on the road to take on the 3-0 Buffalo Bills on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET as they look to find their groove.
It's still incredibly early in the season, but it's not a stretch to say this is a must-win for New England. The idea was always that it was going to be them or the Bills who would win the AFC East this season, but there's a pretty clear leader right now.
Buffalo not only looks like the best team in the division, but they look like the best team in the league, largely because of Josh Allen's incredible start to the season (65.1% completion, 786 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, two interceptions, 114 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown through three games). If the Patriots can beat them in their own stadium and send a message (again), then that could go a long way moving forward.
However, they also might not be without one of their top guys, as Christian Gonzalez has been on the injury report all week due to a shoulder injury.
Here are the latest updates on Gonzalez ahead of the Patriots' Week 4 matchup at Buffalo.
Latest Christian Gonzalez injury updates
The Oregon alum did not participate during the Patriots' practice on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. And according to head coach Mike Vrabel, Gonzalez will not play against the Bills.
Gonzalez was already one of the most important players on the Patriots' roster, and that's proven to be especially true this season. He is one of the very few silver linings for New England so far, and he's going to be crucial to whatever success the team might have this year. Being without him against the Bills is going to be a lot for the Patriots to make up.
Drake Maye looks like a mess. A.J. Brown got injured within the first hour of the season and isn't going to be back for at least another two weeks. Mike Onwenu is likely done for the year after breaking his ankle. And Dre'Mont Jones, the Patriots' best edge rusher, missed Week 3 and was a limited participant in practice this week.
At the very least, having Gonzalez do his thing was helping the Patriots not sink more than they already are since he offers some stability, but since he is not able to go on Sunday, there are reasons to think that things are going to get way worse before they get better.
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