Five Bills' Players Critical to Buffalo's Success vs. Desperate Patriots on Sunday

These players' performances are crucial to Buffalo's chances of securing at least a three-game lead over every team in the AFC East with a victory against New England at Highmark Stadium in Western New York this weekend.

Dec. 22, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills' linebacker Dorian Williams (42) tries to strip the ball from former New England Patriots' running back Antonio Gibson (4) during an NFL game at the old Highmark Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The magnitude of Sunday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park can’t be understated.

With a win, Buffalo can take a commanding multiple-game lead over any of the other three teams in the AFC East, but with a loss . . . the Patriots—or possibly even New York or Miami—will still have life in the divisional race.

It may be Week 4, but every game in the National Football League is important, and the upcoming matchup between Buffalo and New England is a prime example of that notion.

Upcoming meeting between Bills and Patriots has parallels to last October

Oct. 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills' quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs with the ball while being chased by New England Patriots' defensive tackle David Olajiga (96) during the second half at Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In fact, the meeting between the two franchises mirrors last October’s contest in Week 5 where the undefeated Bills welcomed the Patriots to town for an outing on Sunday Night Football.

It was a season-altering game that Buffalo lost 23-20. 

And, despite still holding the division lead at the time after faltering in the contest, New England and quarterback Drake Maye ended up dominating the remainder of the fall and winter en route to eventually winning the AFC East and making it all the way to the Super Bowl.

Could it happen again?

Dec. 14, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots' head coach Mike Vrabel reacts from the sideline as they take on the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Well, hopefully not for first-year head coach Joe Brady’s sake. There’s no time to mess around. The Bills must capitalize on this massive opportunity in front of them.

Here are five key players who can help the team accomplish that feat this weekend.

CB Davison Igbinosun

Sep. 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Buffalo Bills' rookie cornerback Davison Igbinosun (21) reacts after a play during a game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If the situation with starting cornerback Christian Benford’s current toe injury keeps trending in the wrong direction, then Buffalo will be severely undermanned in the secondary against New England, particularly on the boundary.

Injured in the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday, Benford was seen with a walking boot on his right foot immediately following the game and has subsequently been absent from practice this week.

Rookie second-rounder Davison Igbinosun filled in admirably for the veteran against the Chargers, and he now appears to be in line to start his first career NFL game against the Patriots this weekend.

It’s a big spot for the one-time Ohio State standout, and he’ll likely be challenged with going up against wide receiver Romeo Doubs (6 rec., 145 yds) Sunday afternoon, as well as former Bills’ wideout Mack Hollins, who currently leads New England in targets (16), catches (12), and receiving yards (156) through three weeks.

LB Dorian Williams

Dec. 29, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills' linebacker Dorian Williams (42) tackles former New York Jets' quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) in the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Despite struggling a bit on defense as a whole to begin the 2026 season, Bills’ starting inside linebacker Dorian Williams has quietly been one of the more productive players on that side of the ball for Buffalo through September.

Now entering the first week of October, the fourth-year veteran currently leads the Bills in total tackles with 24, and he’s also tied for the team lead amongst inside linebackers with two tackles for loss.

On Sunday, it’ll be imperative that Williams be on top of his game. 

With the Patriots now down to their third-string right guard at this point of the season, Buffalo should be able to control the line of scrimmage in the middle of the defensive front this weekend, which means that the team’s leading tackler needs to be shooting the gaps and bottling plays up behind, at, or near the line of scrimmage all game long. 

Quarterback Drake Maye is struggling mightily at the moment, so the Bills can’t afford to let running backs TreVeyon Henderson or Rhamondre Stevenson get loose past the second level of the defense, which would take some pressure off Maye during the pivotal AFC East matchup.

Sep. 27, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills' starting inside linebacker Dorian Williams (42) tackles Los Angeles Chargers' fullback Alec Ingold (30) in the second half at Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That’s not what Buffalo wants to happen, but it could if Williams and Co. aren’t careful. Both Stevenson and Henderson have combined for 215 yards on just 55 total carries between the two of them through three weeks, which is just a shade under 4.0 yards per attempt.

Both players are still dangerous weapons, and they’ve each managed to rip off a long run of at least 24 yards this year.

This will certainly be an area to watch.

WR D.J. Moore

Sep. 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Buffalo Bills' wide receiver D.J. Moore (2) runs in for a touchdown during a game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

So far, despite the recent injury scare, veteran wide receiver D.J. Moore has been a perfect pairing with quarterback Josh Allen in their first season together.

Moore is currently second on the team in receiving with 11 receptions for 167 yards and a touchdown despite missing most of the game against Detroit with a shoulder ailment, and he seemed to show no lingering issues from the injury last Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

With that in mind, Moore has a gigantic opportunity ahead of him this weekend as Patriots’ veteran star cornerback Christian Gonzalez has been ruled out for the upcoming game due to a shoulder issue of his own.

Bills ON SI covered the concerning development for New England earlier in the week before official word of his game status was first revealed on Friday afternoon by Mike Vrabel.

Sep. 27, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills' wide receiver D.J. Moore (2) catches a pass for 13 yards during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If the former 2023 first-rounder is unable to go at Highmark Stadium, then Buffalo must attack on the outside with Moore and Co. on a regular basis.

The Patriots will undoubtedly look to bottle up running back James Cook III and make the Bills’ offense one dimensional, so it’s important for the passing game to be much sharper than it was against the Chargers last Sunday.

S Cole Bishop

Oct. 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots' quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to avoid a tackle by Buffalo Bills' safety Cole Bishop (24) during the second half at Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Through three weeks of the season, former second-round pick Cole Bishop has had a slow start from his safety position.

Bishop hasn’t been bad by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s failed to make much of any real impact in any of the matchups thus far.

Yes, he’s third on the team in total tackles with 18, but the majority of those takedowns have seemingly come further down the field as Buffalo’s secondary is currently allowing the 25th-most passing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks at a measly 361.3 YPG according to Fox Sports.

In short, it hasn’t been pretty from that standpoint.

And, although the Patriots are hobbled offensively at the moment, the team will still likely look to challenge the defense downfield on Sunday, especially with the aforementioned Doubs and Hollins, as well as veteran tight end Hunter Henry, who is third on the team in receiving with seven catches for 71 yards.

Dec. 22, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots' tight end Hunter Henry (85) makes a catch past Buffalo Bills' safety Cole Bishop (24) during the first half at Highmark Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

It’ll be up to Bishop, as well as fellow starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, to keep things contained in front of them this weekend in the passing game, and it’d also be nice to see the one-time Utah Utes’ standout defensive back make a few more impactful plays than he has through the month of September.

A potential superstar in the making in the eyes of many outside observers, Bishop is capable of more in both run defense and pass defense.

QB Josh Allen

Dec. 14, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Buffalo Bills' quarterback Josh Allen (17) passes the ball against the New England Patriots in the second half at Gillette Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Having quarterback Josh Allen listed here might be a bit obvious given that the gunslinger is always the most important player to Buffalo at any point in time, however, there’s a reason he’s specifically listed as a critical player in terms of the team’s success against New England on Sunday.

After uncharacteristically struggling quite a bit against Los Angeles at home last weekend, Allen is in need of a rebound, specifically against the Patriots.

Last season in Week 5 against New England, the one-time 2024 NFL MVP described the offense’s performance as “piss poor” following the game.

Allen will undoubtedly look to change things during this October’s early-season tilt in the AFC East.

Dec. 14, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Buffalo Bills' quarterback Josh Allen (17) reacts after a touchdown against the New England Patriots in the second half at Gillette Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

However, it won’t be easy, as the Patriots boast the fifth-best defense in the entire league right now in terms of yards allowed per game (278.3 YPG). Furthermore, the secondary is second in the league right now against the pass as they’re allowing just 170 passing yards per contest, and they’re also tied for the third-least amount of passing touchdowns allowed in the NFL with just six scores surrendered through the air so far this season.

If Buffalo is going to avoid any sort of letdown against New England, then it’ll be up to Allen to be in full command and lead the way without making any costly mistakes.

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