New England Patriots Week Two Game Preview: Battling the Buffalo Bills
By Hal Bent
Sep 13, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan yells to players on the bench during the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Colts 27 to 14. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Week two of the 2015 NFL season features the New England Patriots traveling to Ralph Wilson Stadium for Super Bowl 50. OK, not really, but in Buffalo they are treating this as the biggest match-up at home since week seventeen of the 2004 season when the Bills rode a six game win streak into a showdown with the 14-1 Pittsburgh Steelers. Sadly, head coach Mike Mularkey and quarterback Drew Bledsoe could not complete the turnaround from 0-4 to 10 wins and a playoff spot as a wild card as they fell to the Steelers’ backups (Ben Roethlisberger, Plaxico Burress, and Jerome Bettis did not play).
The Bills have a similar situation in this week–except that it is September and only week two of the 2015 NFL season. Buffalo head coach Rex Ryan has brought his aggressive play-calling on defense and bravado north from New Jersey but still has the same situation as the Miami Dolphins in week one last season: the Patriots play for big games in January and February, not in September.
While the Bills’ head coach and players are jawing all week, radio stations posting billboards, and displaying ball inflation pumps in their pro shop, the Patriots are approaching the game just as they would any week two game in September. While the Bills yap, the Patriots go about business as usual acting as if they above the fray.
Of course, all the off-field bologna is simply fodder for the fan bases and reporters to keep them occupied. None of it matters at Sunday at 1:00. At that point, the game plan, execution, and production on the between the lines takes over.
With that, here are some key points, opinions, and predictions for Sunday’s Super Bowl game in Buffalo:
Next: Where's the Beef, Rex Ryan?