3 causes for concern as the Bills face the Patriots in Week 7
The Buffalo Bills are looking ahead to potentially another exciting contest in Week 7. The visit the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
While an opportunity for Buffalo to add to their win column, this is the NFL. There are no walks in the park.
Here are three causes for concern for the Bills (4-2) against the Patriots (1-5):
Who are they playing?
The Patriots have had as many as 20 players on their injury report throughout this past week. That’s a massive amount.
On Friday, only three of those 20 were ruled out. Another 16 are considered questionable to play.
The NFL tries to avoid making the injury report an area where gamesmanship can be found. We’re not saying the Pats are doing that, but in a way, it could be an advantage. The Bills, at many areas on the field, will have no idea who they will be going up against on Sunday.
The Bills haven't been consistent
Technically, the Patriots average 83.7 yards per game on the ground. That’s the seventh-worst total in the NFL.
But that’s not entirely accurate. New England has gotten blown out multiple times this season. When you’re down big, do you run the ball? No, you don’t.
That’s also not to say this is an elite rushing attack. However, the Pats do have the likes of Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott in their backfield, two proven rushers. They could find space against the Bills… if their O-line can hold up.
Unexpected and desperate
There are some suggestions that the Patriots might pull some new tricks out of the hat for the Bills. Most of those center around Malik Cunningham.
He’s a former college quarterback from Louisville that broke some of Lamar Jackson’s records there. In the NFL, he’s been changed to a receiver but he got some interesting looks last week and has lined up as quarterback.
Keep an eye out for No. 16.
