AFC Wild Card
(6) New England Patriots at (3) Buffalo Bills
Patriots: There was a time when they were rolling and it felt like old times once again. They were winners of seven in a row at one point and when the playoff picture was forming itself, the road to SoFi was appearing to go through Foxboro. Tell me if you’ve heard that phrase before. Without question, Mac Jones has been the best rookie quarterback this season. He looked as if he was adapting to the offense and they were catering to skillset as I’ve often found myself saying this year. However, he’s found a bad time to enter a slump. The Patriots ended the year losing three of their final four games on the season. Mac threw five interceptions total in those games. Despite the struggles down the stretch, the Patriots are back in the postseason for the first time since 2019. Their identity has been a consistent ground attack with Mac controlling things and a defense that’s been punishing opponents all year long. I even remember saying this was the 2001 Patriots all over again 20 years later because how they played then with a young man at the time named Tom is exactly what they’ve done with Mac. Tonight, they travel back to Orchard Park for some Saturday Night Football.
Bills: For the second consecutive season, they are AFC East champions. It wasn’t an easy road for them to get there, but they accomplished it nonetheless. It’s been a rocky season for them at times. I would find myself either on Monday Evening Quarterback or any of the other shows I contribute for, I’d call them out for two reasons. The first was their lack of a running game and being far too dependent on Josh Allen. Your quarterback shouldn’t also be your leading rusher in some games and that’s exactly what was happening. When the Bills want to run the ball, they can do it, no excuses. The other reason I’d talk down on them so much was the inconsistencies they’d show at times. They’d win a game, then lose a game. I would often question myself and ask which team is showing up this week? The group that went into Kansas City and beat the Chiefs? Or, the group that couldn’t score against Jacksonville and got upset against one of the worst teams in the league? I will say as of late, I like what I’ve seen from the Bills. They’re making efforts to run the ball, Josh is quarterbacking and doing nothing else and the defense has been outstanding this year. They’ll be back home hosting a playoff game in front of a full stadium this time around.
Patriots X-Factor: Jakobi Meyers– This is the one receiver Mac will target frequently. We know what Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson will bring to the table for this New England offense. They will pile on their yards. The offense needs a guy to complement the running game. This is where Jakobi comes in handy. In the last meeting against the Bills, he caught six passes for 59 yards.
Bills X-Factor: Devin Singletary– The Bills have been feeding him the football. Go back and watch the tape of the New England game against the Colts. Yes, the defense is good, but they’ve shown they can be vulnerable when it comes to stopping the run at times. Establishing Devin takes enormous amounts of pressure off the quarterback. He doesn’t have to press when they have that ground attack going.
Final Thoughts: Divisional showdowns are always fun in the playoffs. When these two first met on December 6th, the Patriots ran the football consistently and the Bills had no answer for it. This was also the game where Mac Jones threw a total of three passes in the entire game. Weeks later, they met in Foxborough and that game in my opinion saved the Bills season. They were able attack New England with a balanced attack and defensively, they made Mac look more like a rookie. Here we are for part three. The weather is expected to be a factor. I’m watching the New England defensive front against Josh Allen. He can do a lot with the ball. Containing him and setting the edge will be ideal for the Patriots defense. The Bills have found their swagger once again offensively. This will come down to who wins the turnover battle.
Prediction: Bills 20, Patriots 17
