No, you really couldn't apply those concerns to the Bills game. Mayo, Ridley and Connolly played in the Bills game, and the Patriots weren't trying to find substitutes for starters on a short week.
You actually could, because the Patriots dealt with those injuries within the game and still won by 15 against a better team than the Jets in a tougher environment and situation. It's not like those injuries magically didn't happen. They did, and they team won despite all of them because other players stepped up in their stead.
Along with that, the biggest concerns occurred the earliest. With Connolly's concussion happening in the first half they had to play without those him for a half and Stork never suited up at all anyway, yet and the O-line held up well against a front that's every bit as good as the Jets', which gave Brady an adequate amount of time to pick apart a beleaguered secondary which despite was bad as it is, is still better than what the Jets will be trotting out on Thursday. Furthermore, Brady was
actually better in the second half without Connolly going 15-17 for 274 and scoring on all 4 drives (not counting kneel-downs) when the line settled down a toward the end of the first half after Devey was inserted into the game.
Moreover, the Patriots lost Mayo for more than a half of football as well and despite that the run defense didn't suffer as much. Buffalo only ran for 29 of their 68 yards after Mayo was gone. Defending the middle of the field was a problem with and without Mayo as Chandler was carving them up even when he was on the field.
Whilst not as hard as having 3 days to find their replacements after the fact, in game injuries are difficult to deal with as well because of the adjustments that have to be made on the fly and still having to play a half without two important players in Jerod and Dan, the Patriots responded to the challenge, played a great second half to overcome those injuries. Guys had to step up within the game. Skinner while terrible in coverage actually had a sack in a patented Mayo-like way and Devey, as maligned as he has been, held up against a good Bills front and didn't completely embarrass himself like he usually does. Which shows that they can indeed adapt to significant injuries, especially coming against superior competition in a road game for the division lead. Replacing Mayo, Connolly, and Ridley going forward is going to tough on such short notice, but the Jets don't present anything more than Buffalo had to make it any harder than the Bills did.
I still stand by what I stated earlier, Patriots by 10+.
