3 Keys to a Patriots Victory in Week 16 vs. Bills
Tom Brady posted in his latest Instagram post that it's "#championshipweek," and few would’ve thought that type of week would consist of a matchup between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills in Week 16 of the regular season.
With two elite defenses taking the field at Gillette Stadium afternoon, this matchup is expected to be a slugfest. Let's review three keys that will help New England notch their 12th win of the season.
1) Sony Michel and the run game
New England’s offensive struggles have been well documented. The passing game has been subpar. The wide receivers are not much of a threat and that was before Julian Edelman began dealing with a knee injury. Now, with Edelman banged up, it will put pressure on running backs Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, and James White to pick up some of the workload in the passing game.
All three backs produced 155 yards on the ground last week against Cincinnati, with Michel gaining 89 and Burkhead getting 53 and a touchdown. Expect the Patriots to use all three RBs on the field at the same time this week. If Edelman is used as a decoy again, don’t be shocked if White plays more of a factor in the passing game than usual, with Burkhead and Michel forcing the Bills into unfavorable matchups.
New England does not mind getting a little creative on offense and Josh McDaniels will do whatever it takes.
2) Containing Devin Singletary
Buffalo's rookie running back, Devin Singletary has emerged as a bonafide star over the course of the season. The Bills do not have much offensive firepower outside of quarterback Josh Allen, but Singletary has been someone that the Bills have leaned on over the past few weeks.
Singletary did not play during the first Patriots/Bills matchup back in September, so his addition will be a new look for New England. In the past six weeks, Singletary has games of 75, 106, 63, 89, and 87 rushing yards. Singletary was thought to be the change-of-pace back to Frank Gore’s power style, but Singletary has ended up becoming the clear no. 1 back in that backfield.
Limiting his explosive plays bodes well for the Patriots chances for a win.
3) Smashmouth football
For fans of high power, high scoring football - this is not your game. During the first matchup back in Buffalo in September, the score was 16-10 . Last year, the score in the two New England/Buffalo games was 25-6 and 24-12.
This will be a game decided on defense and who’s offense does not make mistakes. Tom Brady has struggled vs. the Bills defense since Sean McDermott took over as Bills head coach. He threw a bad interception last time against Buffalo, but Josh Allen threw three interceptions against the Patriots defense as well.
The better defense will decide the winner of this game and the AFC East.
