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Week 2: Bills vs. Patriots
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Sunday, Sept. 20th
1:00pm ET
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This game may be the most anticipated matchup since the Super Bowl days as the division powerhouse New England Patriots come to town to take on the resurgent Bills. There has been a war of words leading up to this game as the Bills certainly are not intimidated anymore by the team that has dominated them for most of this decade.
FACTS AND FIGURES
| Matchup: |
Buffalo (1-0) vs. New England (1-0) |
| Place: |
Ralph Wilson Stadium |
| TV/Radio: |
Network: CBS; DirecTV: 705; SiriusXM: 82 |
| Announcers: |
Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon |
| Spread: |
Patriots by 1 |
| Series: |
Patriots Lead 66-42-1 (Bills 0-1 in playoffs) |
| Streak: |
Bills Won 1 |
| Last Meeting: |
Bills 17-9 in New England (2014) |
| Patriots Offense: |
Rush (21st); Pass (9th); overall (12th) |
| Patriots Defense: |
Rush (27th); Pass (28th); overall (31st) |
| Bills Offense: |
Rush (5th); Pass (18th); overall (16th) |
| Bills Defense: |
Rush (4th); Pass (21st); overall (11th) |
INJURY UPDATE
The Bills will likely be without Marquise Goodwin and Tony Steward again as they have been sidelined. Goodwin has broken ribs and Steward has a sprained MCL. The team hopes to have Corey Graham in the lineup. He has been going through the concussion protocol but hopes to play as he is practicing. Percy Harvin has missed practice time with his nagging hip issue but he's expected to play.
The Patriots may be without DT Dominique Easley who has a hip injury.
Check out our  Bills Daily Injury Page throughout the week for the latest updates on the injured players.
KEY MATCHUPS
Bills Defense vs. Rob Gronkowski:
Since we don't know who is going to be on Gronk we are making it a team effort in our matchups because it likely will be a combination of Stephon Gilmore, Aaron Williams, and maybe a few others to keep Gronk under semi-control.
RB LeSean McCoy vs. LB Dont'a Hightower:
McCoy should be in better condition this week with one game under his belt so look for a better performance from him running the football. Hightower was all over the field for the Pats last week and he is the leading tackler with 8.
WR Sammy Watkins vs. CB Malcolm Butler:
Watkins will be hungry after getting shutout in the opener. He will likely move around to lineup against the 2nd year Butler as much as possible.
DB Ronald Darby vs. WR Julian Edelman:
If the Bills continue to play their cornerbacks by sides than Edelman will likely lineup opposite the rookie Darby who will cover the right side. He needs to shut him down to keep too many weapons from beating the Bills.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Get The Early Lead: If the Patriots jump out on top than Bill Belichick will get his wish and they will not "allow" the fans to be too loud. If the Bills get the jump on New England they will make things real difficult for New England's offense to get things done.
2. Pressure Brady: There is one way to beat perhaps the best QB in league history and that is pressure. They don't need sacks, and likely won't get too many because of Brady's lightning quick release. They do need to pressure him and hit him a bit to make him uncomfortable in the pocket. History shows teams that do that have a good chance at beating the Patriots.
3. Win Third Downs: One of the very few bleak spots on defense last week was the third down defense. They need to be able to get off the field when they get New England in third and medium or third and long situations to keep the scoring down.
BILLS DAILY PREDICTION
The 12th man will give the Bills a huge advantage in this game and they will need them as Tom Brady is the great equalizer. The Bills have a new attitude and they now feel they deserve to be on the same field with the Patriots. This game will go a long way in seeing if this is a new era or the same old Bills. I think they figure out a way to pull it out:
Bills 24, Patriots 21
Season Prediction Record: (0-1)
Season Record Against The Spread: (0-1)
Bills Blitz - Coming Sunday Night!
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