Pre Game Thread - Pats @ Bills

[ashley]

Huge game against the Bills. We win and we're in, it's that simple. With the Chiefs playing on Saturday, Buffalo will know if they have anything to play for by game time. The best case scenario would be for the Bills to lose tonight against the Bengals and the Chiefs to win next Saturday, meaning the Bills won't have any motivation to play for seeding.

Hoping some of our injured players can come back this week. I thought our defensive backs did an incredible job yesterday under the circumstances. A tremendous game plan by the coaches on defense.

Let's go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who's ready????????

 

[ashley]

Our pass rush this year has been great. Here is one example below, al three rushers get to the qb:

 

[State]

We can win this game, even if the Bills have dominated recently.

Keep that four safety thing. I like it. Hopefully the Bills QB doesn’t. Turn him into a mistake-plagued player that he can be notwithstanding his elite arm talent.

Pressure him. Turn the Bills QB into a rookie again.

Belichick has to continue his increased involvement with the offense. His ugly son Stephen is doing a great job calling the defense.

That probably means we lose Jerod Mayo next season a la Pepper Johnson.

No Vonn Miller? Check.

Can the Patriots offensive line create cracks in the running game?

Can we go downfield in the passing game more? I like the improved spacing of the receivers. See the long reception by Hunter Henry. Two guys on Jakobi in the flats, two on Bourne going deep, Henry running free in between on a seam route. Beautiful.

I blame Belichick.

How many snaps will Kendrick Bourne play? He is a huge improvement over Agholor.

 

[VectorPrime]

Broncos suck

 

[ashley]

 

[Patsfan1958]

 

[Uptown]

 

[Uptown]

 

[crawhammer]

Belichick should cite the real reasons: Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson.

 

[jdlboot14]

If the Bills win tonight & Raiders somehow beat the Chiefs on Sat night, then Bills would own the #1 seed...
Meaning we may have a shot to beat them if they're resting guys - which would put us @KC for the wildcard game.

If the Bengals win tonight, the Bills will be playing all-in to get the #1 seed. We'd almost certainly lose.
Which would means we'd need: Jets to beat Dolphins & Browns to beat Steelers & Jags to beat Titans for us to make playoffs...
And we'd be either @Bills or @Bengals.

Which is the best path?

 

[Kontradiction]

I highly doubt the Bills rest most of their starters and let us in. Even if they have nothing to play for, divisional opponents tend to not give another rival within the division a path into the postseason.

 

[crawhammer]

It'll take a spectacular effort all around for the Patriots to beat a full Buffalo squad. One glimmer of hope is Allen's issues with turnovers this season. We'll need to win the turnover battle for sure (something like 1-4). Win at the LOS on both sides of the ball. Big game from the running game. Marcus Jones back for the return game should help too. Everything will need to fall our way.

 

[sb1]

No Von Miller but we’ll see Tre White for the first time in a while.

 

[PatsFan2]

You had a nice four years Jakobi but I don't think you'll get what you're really looking for here. Not going to lie I like other WR's in FA.

 

[crawhammer]

I highly doubt the Bills rest most of their starters and let us in. Even if they have nothing to play for, divisional opponents tend to not give another rival within the division a path into the postseason.

Having nothing to play for only happens if they beat CIN tonight and Stidham outduels Mahomes next Saturday. So one possibility and an epic upset.

 

[sb1]

Looks like Mac will get to play his first game in Buffalo with decent football weather. Looks like seasonal temps and little wind. No deep freeze or crazy wind in the forecast. I don’t think Mac is a cold weather guy like Brady was.

Orchard Park, NY 10-Day Weather Forecast - The Weather Channel | Weather.com

Be prepared with the most accurate 10-day forecast for Orchard Park, NY with highs, lows, chance of precipitation from The Weather Channel and Weather.com

weather.com

 

[venecol]

If the Bills win tonight & Raiders somehow beat the Chiefs on Sat night, then Bills would own the #1 seed...
Meaning we may have a shot to beat them if they're resting guys - which would put us @KC for the wildcard game.

If the Bengals win tonight, the Bills will be playing all-in to get the #1 seed. We'd almost certainly lose.
Which would means we'd need: Jets to beat Dolphins & Browns to beat Steelers & Jags to beat Titans for us to make playoffs...
And we'd be either @Bills or @Bengals.

Which is the best path?

Under @ashley scenario, the Bills would still want to win against Pats trying for the #2 seed. If Bills win tonight and KC wins on Saturday, they're fighting for #1 on Sunday. If Bills lose tonight and KC wins, they're fighting for #2 seed. If Bills win tonight and KC loses, they have nothing to play for on Sunday.

 

[sb1]

I think McDermott will get his team to go all out on Sunday no matter what like Coughlin did in 07. Pats will have to earn it and that’s the way it should be. If they can still beat the Bills their playoff outlook brightens imo.

 

[jdlboot14]

Having nothing to play for only happens if they beat CIN tonight and Stidham outduels Mahomes next Saturday. So one possibility and an epic upset.

Sort of, but not as epic as we thought prior to yesterday... the hapless Broncos took it to the wire with the Chiefs. And the Raiders should have beat the 49ers, but for an OT INT when Stid got hit.

 

[WinstonSmith]

I could be wrong as I've been drinking more than usual this season, but I believe that this will be the first game this year that the Patriots will have the advantage over their opponent in total rest days between games.