The New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills will collide on Sunday with the solo lead in the AFC East on the line. Currently, they both share the top spot with identical 3-0 marks so many are expecting them to fight tooth and nail to remain undefeated. The Patriots have been tabbed as a 7-point favorite over the Bills, thanks to their stout defense that has yet to give up a touchdown this season. However, the Bills also showed that they can survive under intense pressure, winning two of their first three games by a close margin. Patriots veteran quarterback Tom Brady, who has a 30-3 record against Buffalo, expects “a hell of a game” when they take on the Bills at New Era Field.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott admitted that the Patriots look unbeatable this season, but his team is determined to pull off a surprise in the AFC East. However, things look bleak for the Bills as many of the NFL experts predict that the Patriots would remain unscathed in the AFC East.
Majority of experts side with Patriots
According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, the Patriots will emerge victorious via a score of 20-17, behind running back Sony Michel, who has yet to find his groove this season. Marcel Louis-Jacques agreed with his ESPN colleague, saying the Patriots would win a close one, 21-13, with the help of their stifling defense that would keep Bills young quarterback Josh Allen on his feet all game long.
Other ESPN analysts Mike Golic, Seth Wickersham, Mina Kimes, Dan Graziano, and Trey Wingo picked the Patriots, and only Louis Riddick sided with the Bills. Gregg Rosenthal, of NFL.com, and Pete Prisco, Ryan Wilson, and Jason La Canfora, of CBS Sports, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and Michael David Smith all selected the Patriots. The Bills have found allies in Will Brinson and Dave Richard of CBS Sports.
Brown can collect money from Patriots
The Patriots recently released talented but troubled wide receiver Antonio Brown, after just 11 days with the team, for his failure to disclose a civil suit for rape and sexual assault allegations made by his former trainer. The Patriots signed Brown to a one-year deal, worth $15 million, with $9 million in guaranteed money.
The Patriots were supposed to pay Brown $5 million, this week, but team CEO Robert Kraft refused to cough up the money after he was slammed by the wide receiver on Twitter. Brown is expected to file a grievance for him to collect his money from the Patriots. According to sources interviewed by Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson, the Patriots have no choice but to pay Brown. According to Robinson’s sources, the Patriots should have immediately cut Brown when they were made aware of the civil suit. However, the Patriots allowed Brown to play in Week 2 and even paid him two game checks. However, the sources expect the payment to happen next year because the battle is expected to take a long time.