Buffalo Bills Not Overlooking Lowly New England Patriots: 'Urgency at All-Time High'
The tables have flipped when it comes to who runs the AFC East.
The New England Patriots had won the division in 17 of 19 seasons from 2001 to 2019. Now, the Buffalo Bills have won the AFC East for three straight years, while New England has missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons.
Through six games, things seem to be trending in the same direction, with the Bills (4-2) just one game back of the Miami Dolphins (5-1) for first place, while the Patriots (1-5) find themselves in last place and are on a three-game losing streak during one of the worst stretches for the franchise in the past two decades.
Even with New England's struggles and Bill Belichick's job security being as unsteady as it has ever been, the Bills and center Mitch Morse aren't overlooking them.
"After you watch the film, you realize that they could easily have won a few of these games," Morse said. "For us, we understand it's in the division. It's a Bill Belichick-coached team [and a] Bill Belichick-coached defense. For us, we know that we need all hands on deck. We're going to see multiple looks, we're going to have to make in-game adjustments and we're going to have to battle because these guys are very well coached and play very well and they've got guys that have been doing it in that system for a very long time who are just good football players.
"So for us, urgency is at an all-time high."
The Bills have won four straight games against the Patriots.
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The Bills have won six of their last seven meetings against New England, including a 47-17 drubbing in the playoffs on Jan. 15, 2022. Buffalo has won four straight dating back to 2021.
After starting the season 1-2 in three one-score games, the Pats have gone on a three-game losing streak where they've been outscored 93-20 by the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders.
Having become the Bills head coach while the Patriots dynasty was still going under Belichick and Tom Brady, Sean McDermott still has nothing but respect for the head coach and the Patriots.
"We've got great respect for the Patriots and what they've accomplished," McDermott said. "They have a deep history of winning and that's not easy to do in this league."
Buffalo has had ups and downs of its own in the last two games, with a 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and a 14-9 win over the New York Giants that came down to the final play. Before that two-game stretch, Buffalo was on a three-game winning streak and averaged 41 points per game.
The Bills will look to continue their winning ways on Sunday when they head to Gillette Stadium to face the Patriots at 1 p.m. ET.
