{"id":8832,"date":"2016-10-26T06:00:58","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T10:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=8832"},"modified":"2016-10-26T05:20:19","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T09:20:19","slug":"patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ryan Turned Around Season, Can They Maintain It?<\/h2>\n

The Patriots go back out on the road to take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon in Buffalo. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. The game will be televised by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZ-TV.<\/p>\n

The Patriots (6-1), beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-16 and currently have the best record in the AFC. Tom Brady threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and LeGarrette Blount ran for 127 yards and two scores. Malcolm Butler had an interception and three passes broken up.<\/p>\n

The Bills (4-3), lost to the Miami Dolphins 28-25 as the Fins made a furious 4th<\/sup> Qtr comeback, to take the game away from Buffalo who had an 11-point lead. LeSean McCoy reinjured his hamstring in the game and was held out in the second half. The Bills had one won four in a row and with a loss in South Beach lost a chance to be playing for the division lead this weekend. Rex Ryan up to this point hasn’t had the usual bombastic quotes coming into this game but it is still early in the week.<\/p>\n

Here are our Five First Impressions of the Bills:<\/p>\n

McCoy\u2019s Status Up in the Air This Week: <\/strong>Regardless of what was put out this week in Miami, obviously, RB LeSean McCoy reinjured his hamstring. He first hurt it in practice a week ago but then attempted to play thru it in Miami. The Bills \u00a0reported that he felt some pain and they shut him down, but that it wasn\u2019t a re-injury. The smart move would have been to sit him for Miami and be ready to face the Patriots. Now after just eight carries against the Fins, his status for the Patriots won\u2019t likely be known until game time.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s the guy that makes the Bills offense go, he is a very talented runner who is also dangerous out of the backfield in the passing game. The Bills are a ground and pound team and are second in the NFL with 152.3 yards per game average, The Cowboys lead the league with 161.2. But it is McCoy who drives the train. His 598 yards on the ground and a 5.3 yard per carry average lead the team.<\/p>\n

While Tyrod Taylor and Mike Gillislee are talented runners they aren\u2019t the game breakers that McCoy is. Especially considering his versatility as a pass receiver and how slippery he is to bring down. The last game in Foxboro was a testament to that.<\/p>\n

Taylor is the Wildcard but Still Not \u201cThe Guy\u201d at QB: <\/strong>Tyrod Taylor was given a big contract extension (6 years, $92 Million), this spring but with the exception of the week against the Patriots where he threw for 246 yards and a touchdown, he hasn\u2019t performed like a franchise QB. Like we mentioned above, the Bills are primarily a running team, but if they\u2019re going to take the next step and become a playoff team, they\u2019ll need a QB who can at least occasionally put the team on his shoulders at crunch time.<\/p>\n

So far, Taylor hasn\u2019t been that guy. With the score either tied or within one possession in the fourth quarter, Taylor\u2019s record is 2-7. In those games, his 4th<\/sup> quarter completion percentage is just 45.2, with two touchdowns and three interceptions with a passer rating of 50.3. Those aren\u2019t franchise QB numbers.<\/p>\n

Taylor is an exciting and at times dangerous player, especially when he gets free and can make plays with his legs. He throws an excellent deep ball\u00a0but is still iffy when forced to throw from the pocket and using the middle of the field. The Patriots treated him like Russell Wilson in the first meeting and took a very passive approach. That cost them dearly. Don\u2019t expect that kind of mistake again.<\/p>\n

The Bills will have an interesting decision to make in the spring. Will they kick in their team option for $15.9 million against the cap for Taylor for 2017? There is still a long way to go in the season. However, if they remain the #31 team in throwing the ball, averaging just 175 yards a game\u2026they may decide to pass.<\/p>\n

Zach Brown Will Be the Player to Watch on Defense: <\/strong>The Bills defense has been going thru a resurgence since the Jets game and the big story has been Lorenzo Alexander who has nine sacks thru the first seven games.\u00a0 While the 33-year old Alexander is making the splashes, the guy the Patriots should account for would be LB Zach Brown.<\/p>\n

Brown was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week when the two teams met a month ago. He made 18 tackles, had a sack and forced two fumbles. He was all over the field and was the best player for either team on the field that day. He’s the fourth rated linebacker in the league according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). He’s up there guys like Luke Kuechly, Bobby Wagner, and the Pats’ Jamie Collins<\/p>\n

The Patriots could only gain 90 yards on the ground against the Bills in Foxboro. They\u2019ll be looking to do much better in that department this time around. The first guy that they\u2019ll have to account for is Brown. He was never known as a playmaker before this season but is enjoying a big breakout season.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s on First? Bills WRs Hit Hard by Injury: <\/strong>The Bills skill-position players are being bitten by an injury bug epidemic right now. Sammy Watkins is already on IR with a foot issue, he\u2019s their best receiver. Greg Salas, ditto. Robert Woods is their best WR on the roster right now and has 25 catches, 240 yards, and a touchdown. But he\u2019s been bothered by a sore foot all season, it caught up with him last week and he missed the Miami game.<\/p>\n

Marquise Goodwin is the Buffalo deep threat, the former Olympic hopeful has 12 catches for 258 yards, good for a 21.5-yard average and three touchdowns. But right now, he\u2019s in the concussion protocol after last week\u2019s game in Miami. He went up for a deep ball and as he fell to the turf, he hit his head hard and appeared to briefly lose consciousness.<\/p>\n

With Watkins on IR until at least early November, and Woods in a walking boot a week ago, Goodwin in the concussion protocol, that leaves the Bills with, for now, only three healthy wide receivers, Justin Hunter, Brandon Tate, and Walt Powell. On Tuesday, the Bills elevated Ed Eagan from the practice squad to the active roster. They’ll \u00a0hope that Woods will be able to make it back on the field this week.<\/p>\n

Special Teams Units Have Questions:<\/strong> The Patriots aren\u2019t the only ones with a Special Teams’ unit that is struggling. The Bills, normally one of the NFL\u2019s best STs\u2019 units have been scuffling along as well. Dan Carpenter has missed two field goals (9-11), and two extra points (20-22). Their punting unit with Colton Schmidt is about in the middle of the road in terms of net punting average.<\/p>\n

But in Miami, they had a strong game. Returner Brandon Tate returned a punt 30 yards, his second return of 30+ yards on the season. \u00a0Schmidt had a punt downed at the one-yard line and the Bills blocked a punt in the 2nd<\/sup> quarter. Their coverage units have been solid, especially the punt coverage unit. They\u2019re allowing only 3.2 yards per punt return.<\/p>\n

Like New England, they\u2019ve been good in their kickoff coverage unit as well. They\u2019re allowing only 19 yards per kickoff return. This one may come down to special teams and both teams could use a boost from the specialty units.<\/p>\n

Check back with us later in the week as we\u2019ll break down the key matchups for the game right here on PatsFans.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcasts on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brown was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week when the two teams met a month ago. He made 18 tackles, had a sack and forced two fumbles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":8378,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[1066,800,34,1218,46,264,1174,1219,44,104,117,275,585,13,102,1175],"class_list":["post-8832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2016-nfl-season","tag-2016-patriots-season","tag-bill-belichick","tag-brandon-tate","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-lesean-mccoy","tag-lorenzo-alexander","tag-mike-gillislee","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-rex-ryan","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-robert-woods","tag-sammy-watkins","tag-tom-brady","tag-tyrod-taylor","tag-zach-brown"],"yoast_head":"\nPatriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Brown was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week when the two teams met a month ago. He made 18 tackles, had a sack and forced two fumbles.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up | PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brown was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week when the two teams met a month ago. He made 18 tackles, had a sack and forced two fumbles.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-26T10:00:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg?fit=1755%2C1298&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1755\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1298\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SteveB7SFG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@patsfans\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\"},\"headline\":\"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-26T10:00:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1364,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2016 NFL Season\",\"2016 Patriots season\",\"Bill Belichick\",\"Brandon Tate\",\"Buffalo Bills\",\"LeSean McCoy\",\"Lorenzo Alexander\",\"Mike Gillislee\",\"New England Patriots\",\"Rex Ryan\",\"Rob Gronkowski\",\"Robert Woods\",\"Sammy Watkins\",\"Tom Brady\",\"Tyrod Taylor\",\"Zach Brown\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Patriots Commentary\",\"Patriots News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/\",\"name\":\"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-26T10:00:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Brown was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week when the two teams met a month ago. He made 18 tackles, had a sack and forced two fumbles.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg\",\"width\":1755,\"height\":1298,\"caption\":\"Winslow Townson - USA TODAY Sports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/26\\\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Patriots Commentary\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/patriots-commentary\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"description\":\"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"PatsFans.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/patsfans\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@patsfans.official\"],\"foundingDate\":\"2000-06-17\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\",\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Steve Balestrieri\"},\"description\":\"A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/steve.balestrieri\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/SteveB7SFG\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/sbalestrieri\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up","description":"Brown was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week when the two teams met a month ago. He made 18 tackles, had a sack and forced two fumbles.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up | PatsFans.com","og_description":"Brown was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week when the two teams met a month ago. He made 18 tackles, had a sack and forced two fumbles.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/","og_site_name":"PatsFans.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","article_published_time":"2016-10-26T10:00:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1755,"height":1298,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg?fit=1755%2C1298&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Balestrieri","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SteveB7SFG","twitter_site":"@patsfans","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/"},"author":{"name":"Steve Balestrieri","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da"},"headline":"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up","datePublished":"2016-10-26T10:00:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/"},"wordCount":1364,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg","keywords":["2016 NFL Season","2016 Patriots season","Bill Belichick","Brandon Tate","Buffalo Bills","LeSean McCoy","Lorenzo Alexander","Mike Gillislee","New England Patriots","Rex Ryan","Rob Gronkowski","Robert Woods","Sammy Watkins","Tom Brady","Tyrod Taylor","Zach Brown"],"articleSection":["Patriots Commentary","Patriots News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/","name":"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg","datePublished":"2016-10-26T10:00:58+00:00","description":"Brown was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week when the two teams met a month ago. He made 18 tackles, had a sack and forced two fumbles.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg","width":1755,"height":1298,"caption":"Winslow Townson - USA TODAY Sports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/26\/patriots-2016-opponents-bills-coming-banged\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Patriots Commentary","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/category\/patriots-commentary\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Patriots 2016 Opponents, Bills Are Coming in Banged Up"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","name":"PatsFans.com","description":"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization","name":"PatsFans.com","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"PatsFans.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","https:\/\/x.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/patsfans\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@patsfans.official"],"foundingDate":"2000-06-17"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da","name":"Steve Balestrieri","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Steve Balestrieri"},"description":"A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","https:\/\/x.com\/SteveB7SFG"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/author\/sbalestrieri\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-4-Tyrod-Taylor-BPh3o.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8832"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8842,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832\/revisions\/8842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}