{"id":8861,"date":"2016-10-28T07:00:18","date_gmt":"2016-10-28T11:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=8861"},"modified":"2016-10-29T23:42:36","modified_gmt":"2016-10-30T03:42:36","slug":"patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots – Bills, Different Feel for the Rematch, Key Matchups"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills in a big game for both teams. Kickoff is slated 1:05 p.m.<\/p>\n

The game will be televised by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play duties with Dan Fouts as the color analyst. Evan Washburn will work the sidelines. The game will also be aired on the Patriots flagship radio station 98.5 The SportsHub with Bob Socci and Scott Zolak on the call, produced by Marc Cappello.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Patriots<\/strong>\u00a0(6-1) defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-16 on the road. LeGarrette Blount rushed for 127 yards and Tom Brady threw for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Rob Gronkowski caught five passes for 93 yards and a score.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Bills<\/strong>\u00a0(4-3) lost to the Miami Dolphins 28-25 in Miami. The Bills blew a 17-6 lead in the second half and allowed RB Jay Ajayi to run for over 200 yards in the loss. Bills RB LeSean McCoy re-injured his hamstring in the game and left after 8 carries.<\/p>\n

We here at\u00a0PatsFans.com<\/a>\u00a0are continuing our \u201cRazor\u2019s Edge\u201d\u00a0column in 2016 to give some quick\u00a0analysis on some of the key matchups of the game and what you can look for in how the game plays out.<\/p>\n

Series History:<\/strong>
\nThe Patriots and Bills will meet for the 114th<\/sup> time in their history and the second of two divisional matchups in 2016. The Patriots have dominated overall in the series holding a 69-43-1 edge overall. The Patriots hold a 33-22-1 advantage in Buffalo over the course of their rivalry including the last four games played there.<\/p>\n

The Bills shut out the Patriots 16-0 in the first meeting between the two teams a month ago in Foxboro. It was the first time that the Patriots have been shut out at home since 1993. It was also coincidentally the final game of Tom Brady\u2019s four-game suspension and was started by Jacoby Brissett.<\/p>\n

Here is a look at some of the key matchups and who holds the Razor\u2019s Edge.<\/p>\n

First up is the Patriots offense:<\/p>\n

Patriots RBs vs Bills Front Seven –\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Patriots have been running the football a lot better in 2016, the return of Dante Scarnecchia, as well as the return of Nate Solder, has boosted the level of play of the offensive line, especially in the running game. Rookie guard Joe Thuney has been very well next to Solder.<\/p>\n

Blount is off to the best start of his career. He\u2019s rushed for 566 yards and eight touchdowns which are already a career high. He\u2019s shown patience and the ability to see and hit the holes and get to the second level where he is much more dangerous.<\/p>\n

The Bills have been up and down against the run allowing an average of 125 yards per game. The strength is in the linebacker play with interior linebackers Zach and Preston Brown doing a great job of shutting things down. Zach Brown was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week when the teams met a month ago making 18 tackles. The Bills should get a boost from the return of Marcel Dareus this week.<\/p>\n

Although they\u2019ll have to account for the Browns, they can get some push on the right side. Adolphus Washington and Leger Douzable were pushed around a bit as was OLB Jerry Hughes by the Dolphins a week ago. With the return of Brady, the Bills linebackers will have to respect the pass much more than when facing Brissett. That should open some gaps for Blount to exploit.<\/p>\n

Patriots WRs vs Bills Secondary –\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Patriots passing game is a much different one than the Bills faced in Gillette back in early October. With Brady back in the fold and playing as sharp as ever, the New England passing game is more dangerous than ever.<\/p>\n

With the twin tight ends of Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett posing matchup nightmares for opposing defenses and Julian Edelman starting to round into form, the Patriots have plenty of weapons they can attack with. Adding in former Bill Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, Malcolm Mitchell, and James White out of the backfield and it gives Brady a plethora of potent weapons to use.<\/p>\n

Buffalo\u2019s pass defense has been much improved because they\u2019ve gotten their pass rush sorted out. With 21 sacks, they\u2019ve already equaled their anemic 2015 total. Leading the way is surprising LB Lorenzo Alexander. The 33-year old entered the year with nine career sacks and he\u2019s put up that many this year in a key role, leading the league.<\/p>\n

With Jerry Hughes and rookie Shaq Lawson who played for the first time, they have plenty of edge rushers. Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams will help with the inside push. The linebackers are big and physical but safety Aaron Williams will probably miss this one due to a concussion.<\/p>\n

Look for Brady to spread them out in this one. It will force them to declare who\u2019s covering who at the line and will help him recognize where the Bills’ blitzes will be coming from, something Brady is excellent at. The tight ends matched up against the linebackers and safeties will be a key area to watch. But this is a game tailor made for James White. With the Buffalo pass rushers coming hard there will be plenty of opportunities for White to slip out and make some yardage.<\/p>\n

Next up the Buffalo offense:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bills RBs vs NE Front Seven –\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge Buffalo
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Bills running game and its effectiveness is based on the availability of LeSean McCoy and his being 100 percent physically or close to it. Right now, he hasn’t practiced Wednesday or Thursday and the Bills announced he\u2019s 50\/50 to play. He\u2019s one of the best backs in the NFL and can make people miss. He\u2019s rushed for 598 yards on the season and is third on the team with receptions.<\/p>\n

QB Tyrod Taylor and Mike Gillislee do a good job of running the ball as well but if McCoy can\u2019t go, it will be a big loss for Buffalo. Buffalo\u2019s rushing offense is second in the NFL second only to Dallas, it is what makes their offense go.<\/p>\n

The Patriots have done a very good job of limiting the running game thus far in 2016. They\u2019re allowing just 92.3 yards per game thus far in 2016. The Bills in the first game rushed for 134 yards, something the Patriots will want to do a much better job of.<\/p>\n

Interior linemen Malcolm Brown and Alan Branch have done a great job of stopping the run at the point of attack and allowing linebackers Jamie Collins and Dont\u2019a Hightower to clean up and make plays. If McCoy can go, Collins will have a heavy focus on shadowing him.<\/p>\n

This will be a key matchup for both teams. The Bills offense flows thru the running game. That opens the deep play action passing of Taylor that they\u2019ve hit on several times this year. Stopping the run and forcing the ball into Taylor\u2019s hands is priority one for the Patriots defense.<\/p>\n

Bills WRs vs NE Secondary-\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Bills WR core is beaten up right now. Top WR Sammy Watkins is still on IR and a few weeks away from being ready to return. Robert Woods who led the team with 89 yards receiving in the first matchup is just getting back to practice this week although limited after missing the Miami game with a foot issue. Marquise Goodwin is in the concussion protocol and his status is up in the air.<\/p>\n

Charles Clay will be the go-to guy for Taylor this week, especially if McCoy who\u2019s third on the team with 20 catches can\u2019t go. The Bills passing game is mired in 31st<\/sup> place in the NFL averaging 175.1 yards per game.<\/p>\n

The Patriots have taken a patient approach in the passing game, trying to keep everything in front of them and forcing teams to slowly pick their way down the field. That isn\u2019t Buffalo\u2019s passing game as when they do throw, they go for the big hitter. They\u2019ll need to do a much better job of getting after Taylor in this one and that falls to the edge players, Jabaal Sheard, Chris Long, Rob Ninkovich and Trey Flowers.<\/p>\n

With so many of their passing weapons either missing or possibly limited, look for Taylor to target Clay and fellow tight end Nick O\u2019Leary in this one. This may be time to see more of Reggie Bush on third downs as well as WR Ed Eagan who was activated off the practice squad. Rex Ryan likens him to a young Wes Welker.<\/p>\n

Special Teams-<\/strong>\u00a0Razor\u2019s Edge Buffalo<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/em>The Patriots special teams had perhaps their worst night since the Philadelphia game a year ago. Stephen Gostkowski missed yet another extra point and is struggling right now. Ryan Allen hit two bad punts and had another perfectly placed inside the five-yard line, whiffed on by the coverage unit and allowed to bounce into the end zone. The kickoff coverage unit for the first time allowed opponents to get past the 25 on pooch kickoffs.<\/p>\n

Buffalo has had their own struggles on special teams. Dan Carpenter has missed on two extra points and two field goals. Colton Schmidt is in the bottom half of the league in net punting average. But the Bills STs had a big day in Miami, Brandon Tate had his second 30-yard punt return of the year and they blocked a kick.<\/p>\n

Next up, who wins and why\u2026<\/p>\n

Prediction:
\n<\/strong>This game isn\u2019t going to be the cakewalk the Bills enjoyed in Gillette facing rookie Jacoby Brissett. With Brady back, and Gronkowski finally healthy, the Patriots offense is vastly different now. The Bills defense is good and they can get after the QB, and they\u2019ll have to in this one.<\/p>\n

Look for Brady to try to get the ball out lightning quick early in this one as they\u2019ll try to tire out those pass rushers from the edge. The balance between the running game and the passing game is key here, something the Patriots couldn\u2019t do a year ago, now it makes opponents sit up and take notice. After getting gashed a week ago in Miami, that is something the Bills defense won\u2019t want a repeat of.<\/p>\n

Defensively, a lot will depend on who can suit up for the Bills offense and how effective physically they\u2019ll be. Playing McCoy a week ago may end up being a foolish move on the coaching staff\u2019s part if he can\u2019t go or isn\u2019t the same player this week. Woods is the other player the Bills need this week to be close to 100 percent physically.<\/p>\n

The Patriots get off to a faster start this time around and put the onus on the Bills offense to counter. The team caps off the first half of the season with a solid, road win and will enter the bye week 7-1 Patriots 34-13<\/strong><\/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":"

The Pats passing game is a different one than the Bills faced in Gillette. With Brady back in the fold, the NE passing game is more dangerous than ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":8765,"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":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[1066,800,34,46,599,18,204,154,16,1026,78,17,59,24,264,1174,15,1221,930,1219,44,70,38,248,104,117,36,275,13,35,102,1175],"class_list":["post-8861","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-buffalo-bills","tag-chris-hogan","tag-danny-amendola","tag-dion-lewis","tag-donta-hightower","tag-jabaal-sheard","tag-jacoby-brissett","tag-james-white","tag-julian-edelman","tag-kyle-williams","tag-lagarrette-blount","tag-lesean-mccoy","tag-lorenzo-alexander","tag-malcolm-butler","tag-marcel-dareus","tag-martellus-bennett","tag-mike-gillislee","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-predictions","tag-rex-ryan","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-rob-ninkovich","tag-robert-woods","tag-tom-brady","tag-trey-flowers","tag-tyrod-taylor","tag-zach-brown"],"yoast_head":"\nPatriots - Bills, Different Feel for the Rematch, Key Matchups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Pats passing game is a different one than the Bills faced in Gillette. With Brady back in the fold, the NE passing game is more dangerous than ever.\" \/>\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\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patriots - Bills, Different Feel for the Rematch, Key Matchups | PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Pats passing game is a different one than the Bills faced in Gillette. With Brady back in the fold, the NE passing game is more dangerous than ever.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/\" \/>\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=\"2016-10-28T11:00:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-10-30T03:42:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg?fit=936%2C640&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"936\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\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\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\"},\"headline\":\"Patriots – Bills, Different Feel for the Rematch, Key Matchups\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-28T11:00:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-10-30T03:42:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1914,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2016 NFL Season\",\"2016 Patriots season\",\"Bill Belichick\",\"Buffalo Bills\",\"Chris Hogan\",\"Danny Amendola\",\"Dion Lewis\",\"Dont'a Hightower\",\"Jabaal Sheard\",\"Jacoby Brissett\",\"James White\",\"Julian Edelman\",\"Kyle Williams\",\"LaGarrette Blount\",\"LeSean McCoy\",\"Lorenzo Alexander\",\"Malcolm Butler\",\"Marcel Dareus\",\"Martellus Bennett\",\"Mike Gillislee\",\"New England Patriots\",\"NFL\",\"Patriots edge rushers\",\"predictions\",\"Rex Ryan\",\"Rob Gronkowski\",\"Rob Ninkovich\",\"Robert Woods\",\"Tom Brady\",\"Trey Flowers\",\"Tyrod Taylor\",\"Zach Brown\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Patriots Commentary\",\"Patriots News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/\",\"name\":\"Patriots - Bills, Different Feel for the Rematch, Key Matchups\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-28T11:00:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-10-30T03:42:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Pats passing game is a different one than the Bills faced in Gillette. With Brady back in the fold, the NE passing game is more dangerous than ever.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg\",\"width\":936,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"Charles LeClaire - USA TODAY Sports\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/28\\\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Patriots Commentary\"}]},{\"@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 - Bills, Different Feel for the Rematch, Key Matchups","description":"The Pats passing game is a different one than the Bills faced in Gillette. With Brady back in the fold, the NE passing game is more dangerous than ever.","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\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/","next":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Patriots - Bills, Different Feel for the Rematch, Key Matchups | PatsFans.com","og_description":"The Pats passing game is a different one than the Bills faced in Gillette. With Brady back in the fold, the NE passing game is more dangerous than ever.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/","og_site_name":"PatsFans.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","article_published_time":"2016-10-28T11:00:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-10-30T03:42:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":936,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg?fit=936%2C640&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\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/"},"author":{"name":"Steve Balestrieri","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da"},"headline":"Patriots – Bills, Different Feel for the Rematch, Key Matchups","datePublished":"2016-10-28T11:00:18+00:00","dateModified":"2016-10-30T03:42:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/"},"wordCount":1914,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg","keywords":["2016 NFL Season","2016 Patriots season","Bill Belichick","Buffalo Bills","Chris Hogan","Danny Amendola","Dion Lewis","Dont'a Hightower","Jabaal Sheard","Jacoby Brissett","James White","Julian Edelman","Kyle Williams","LaGarrette Blount","LeSean McCoy","Lorenzo Alexander","Malcolm Butler","Marcel Dareus","Martellus Bennett","Mike Gillislee","New England Patriots","NFL","Patriots edge rushers","predictions","Rex Ryan","Rob Gronkowski","Rob Ninkovich","Robert Woods","Tom Brady","Trey Flowers","Tyrod Taylor","Zach Brown"],"articleSection":["Patriots Commentary","Patriots News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/","name":"Patriots - Bills, Different Feel for the Rematch, Key Matchups","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg","datePublished":"2016-10-28T11:00:18+00:00","dateModified":"2016-10-30T03:42:36+00:00","description":"The Pats passing game is a different one than the Bills faced in Gillette. With Brady back in the fold, the NE passing game is more dangerous than ever.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-Week-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg","width":936,"height":640,"caption":"Charles LeClaire - USA TODAY Sports"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/28\/patriots-bills-ii-keys-game-razors-edge\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Patriots Commentary"}]},{"@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-7-Tom-Brady-7cOmW.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8861","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=8861"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8901,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8861\/revisions\/8901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}