Coming out of their bye week and riding the crest of a 10-game winning streak and it appears that life could not be better for the New England Patriots. Hard as it may be to believe the Boston Red Sox have lost a game more recently than the Patriots have lost one. But their streak is in serious jeopardy Sunday when top two NFL MVP candidate Drake Maye and the Patriots face last year’s MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
The game will be played at New England’s home of Gillette Stadium in the 1 p.m. Eastern time slot, but even with the Bills playing on the road where they are 3-3 â against the Patriots 5-2 home record â and the Patriots having been literally unbeatable since late September, Buffalo has been installed by oddsmakers as a 4.5-point favorite.
In fact, in a panel of six NFL experts assembled by USA Today, five predicted on Thursday that the Bills will come away with a victory on Sunday.
Patriots Get Good News on Reinforcements
That’s why it had to boost the Patriotsâ spirits, and their chances, to get some potentially game-changing news courtesy of the team’s injury report after Wednesday’s practice. It appears that, in terms of player health, the Patriots benefitted significantly from their bye week.
New England’s most recent game was Monday night, Dec. 1, when they cruised past the New York Giants 33-15. That means that by kickoff on Sunday they will have had 12 full days, and part of a 13th, to recover.
As a result, three important players who were forced to sit out the Giants game were full participants in Wednesdayâs Patriots practice â a solid indicator that all will be ready to play on Sunday.
Those three are rookie offensive left guard Jared Wilson, All-Pro special teams captain Brenden Schooler and defensive tackle Khyris Tonga.
Tonga Return Especially Important
The return of Tonga, signed as a free agent from the Arizona Cardinals on a one-year, $2.1 million contract could prove especially key to the game because head coach Mike Vrabel starting in early November converted the 6-foot-2, 335-pound 29-year-old to a two-way player.
In fact, veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs praised Tonga as the “best two-way player in the league, if you ask me,” as quoted by Boston.com.
Tonga has taken 10 snaps as a fullback, and his formidable blocking ability is likely to play an important role in helping the Patriots explain the Billsâ 28th-ranked run defense.
On the defensive line, Tonga’s role as a lane-clogging run-stuffer will prove even more important as the Patriots attempt to slow Buffalo’s NFL-leading (2,051 yards) ground attack led by running back James Cook, the league’s second-leading rusher with 1,308 yards, and Allen himself, who leads all NFL quarterbacks with 487 yards.
But Maye places second behind Allen with 319 yards on the ground.
Some Cautionary News as Well
The outlook is not all rosy for the Patriots, of course. In one ominous sign, under coach Sean McDermott the Bills have won eight consecutive games against opponents who have beaten them in an earlier meeting in the same season.
The Patriots defeated Buffalo 23-20 in Week 4, when rookie kicker Andy Borregales connected on a 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the game.
On the other hand, as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, Vrabel boasted an undefeated, 6-0 record coming out of bye weeks â including a 2020 win over the Bills in a season when Buffalo lost only three regular season games and advanced to the AFC Championship.
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