Bills, Patriots will reignite lopsided AFC East rivalry on Sunday Night Football

Buffalo hosts New England on Sunday Night Football in a matchup between the AFC East’s top-two teams

Buffalo Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen (17). | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the Buffalo Bills prepare to face the New England Patriots in Week 5, it finally feels like this AFC East rivalry is back.

Although the Bills are touchdown favorites against the Patriots, this game feels a lot different. New England has a competent head coach in Mike Vrabel. The Pats appear to have their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye. New additions like Harold Landry III and former Buffalo All-Pro Stefon Diggs are making real contributions.

Rivalries only feel real when both sides are competitive. And for most of the 2020’s the Bills have handled New England. Since 2020, including the playoffs, Buffalo has an 8-3 record against the Pats.

And one of those three losses — the 2024 regular-season finale — has an asterisk since Josh Allen and many other Bills’ starters played minimal snaps that day.

Buffalo Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen (17) and Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4). | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As lopsided as this rivalry has been in Buffalo's favor lately, it was even more lopsided for New England in the 2000s and 2010s. Across those two decades, the Pats held a 35-5 mark against the Bills, coincidentally due to it being during the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era in New England.

So, while it's not all the way there yet, this matchup could be approaching the closest these two organizations have felt like rivals in a long time. Even thinking about the "perfect game" in the 2021 divisional round, that game marked a new era, as Buffalo's recent dominance in the series really perked up that night.

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But Sunday's Week 5 matchup could be the return of that rivalry feel. Two great coaches; an MVP quarterback on one side, and an emerging one on the other; former players playing for the opposing side. Most importantly for the rivalry, though: competitive teams.

The Patriots may not be there quite yet. But given how they've looked through four games, they will be formidable foes for the Bills in the future.

New England Patriots' running back Antonio Gibson (4). | David Butler II-Imagn Images

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