In Week 4, the New England Patriots will stake their 3-0 record against AFC East rival Buffalo Bills, who have started their season strong with three straight victories of their own. The Patriots defeated their first three opponents –the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets– with a combined score of 106-17. The Bills, for their part, had to work extra hard to survive their first three foes. The Bills survived the Jets, 17-16, in Week 1 before following it with a 28-14 win over the New York Giants. In Week 3, the Bills escaped with a close 21-17 triumph over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Patriots entered Week 3 as a 22.5-point favorite over the Jets, but they failed to cover the spread as New York scored two touchdowns from miscues of the offense and special teams.
Regardless of this, the Patriots will enter the week as a 7-point favorite on the road against the Bills, according to the Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas. The Bills have lost their last five outings against veteran quarterback Tom Brady and New England. Despite being the early favorites, Brady, head coach Bill Belichick, and cornerback Jason McCourty won’t leave anything to chance, especially against a dangerous Bills squad which can pull off a surprise.
Brady says facing Bills an enormous challenge
When asked about their upcoming showdown with the Bills, the 42-year-old Brady said the most challenging part is to reconfigure the Patriots’ offense against “You’ve just got to do the best you can do, and a lot of moving parts, a lot of guys playing a lot of positions they’ve never really been in,” said Brady.
The veteran quarterback said the Patriots need to prepare for the Bills because the rest of the NFL is after their necks and nobody is feeling sorry for them.
“Certainly, 3-0 is a good feeling, but you don’t really get anything for three wins. We’ve got to do a lot more than this,” said Brady, who is 30-3 against the Bills. In 33 games against Buffalo, Brady torched the Bills with 69 touchdown passes with just 24 interceptions.
The last time the Bills won against the Patriots was in Week 4 of the 2016 season, a game which Brady missed due to his four-game suspension in connection with the “Deflategate” scandal.
Belichick buckling down to work in preparation for Bills
Belichick, for his part, labeled their 30-14 over the Jets as a good win, saying “I thought we did a lot of good things out there today.” However, Belichick said his team also committed obvious mistakes that allowed the Jets to close in late in the game.
Luckily, Belichick said the Patriots have ample time to correct these mistakes before heading to Buffalo.
“We've just got to do a few things better and that'll help us a lot. So, we'll get back to work,” said Belichick. McCourty said the defense should step up anew, especially on the road and against a dangerous squad such as the Bills. “We have won three games we played well on defense and what is it going to take to play well in game four. For us right now that is the focus,” he said. The Patriots defeated the Jets even without wide receiver Antonio Brown, who they released recently.
