The Bills are preparing for one of their biggest regular season matchups under head coach Sean McDermott as they take on the Patriots this Sunday.
New England is currently leading the AFC East standings, and if it beats Buffalo, it will effectively eliminate the Bills from the division title.
However, the Patriots dropped some significant news on Saturday morning that could impact both the game and the remainder of the season.
The Patriots Will be Down Running Back Terrell Jennings
New England placed running back Terrell Jennings on injured reserve, ending his regular season. Jennings suffered a concussion in the Patriots’ Week 13 win over the Giants.
Jennings is currently in his second season in the NFL and stepped up nicely for New England when starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson was sidelined for three games in the middle of the season.
The 24-year-old running back has accumulated 73 yards and one touchdown over the course of seven games this season.
Since Stevenson has made his return and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson is enjoying a strong second half of the season, Jennings’ role in the running game has diminished.
However, Jennings played a crucial role on special teams, especially after backup running back Antonio Gibson tore his ACL against the Bills in Week 5.
Jennings played a significantly bigger role for the Patriots than just what he contributed on the field. Head coach Mike Vrabel praised Jennings for being such a great teammate.
“I think, one, he’s a great teammate,” Vrabel said on Oct. 31. “I believe that, I know that, I’ve seen that. He cares about his teammates. Plays hard, unselfish, and then he runs hard. I think he’s improved. He’s improved his skill set from the time that we’ve gotten here in the spring. He’s taking advantage of his opportunities, whether that be on the special teams unit – he had a couple tackles last week and was excited. Everybody was excited that he got one of those special teams game ball recognitions. He’s done a good job when he’s been in there. So, excited to see him continue to play.”
The Bills Need a Big Win on Sunday
The Bills will need to put forth their best effort on Sunday, or they might find themselves relying on a wild card to make the playoffs.
Even if Buffalo loses to New England, it can still make the playoffs as a wild card team, and currently, it has the second wild card spot.
It would be great for the Bills to clinch the AFC East title again, especially since they’ve won it for five consecutive years. More importantly, it would secure Buffalo at least one home playoff game, even if they don’t finish as a top-two seed in the conference.
The Bills’ most significant challenge in the postseason has been their consistent losses to the Chiefs in four of the last five playoffs. However, Kansas City currently finds itself on the outside looking in, holding a 6-7 record. It would be an excellent opportunity for Buffalo to capitalize on this situation, as the Chiefs are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time since Patrick Mahomes took over as their starting quarterback in 2018.
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