What is the New England Patriots’ Game Plan to Defeat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday?

DEFENSIVE GAME PLAN:

Oct 5, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots cornerback

(24) is helped off the field after a play against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Bengals 43-17. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Bills offense has struggled this season. E.J. Manuel struggled with accuracy downfield and often checked down too often eschewing finding his receivers downfield. Per ProFootballFocus.com, under pressure Manuel was abysmal with a completion percentage of 38.1% and a 45.5 quarterback rating. Orton was also susceptible to pressure, but had a completion percentage of 50% and a quarterback rating of almost 70.0. For the Bills last week, that small difference is what made the difference and have them coming in with momentum against New England rather than riding a three-game losing streak.

The Bills passing game revolves around rookie Sammy Watkins. The Bills traded the inconsistent and mercurial Stevie Johnson this offseason to make sure Watkins is the undisputed number one receiver. So far in 2014, Watkins has looked capable of stepping in much like All-Pro’s Julio Jones, A.J. Green, and Dez Bryant have done as they quickly ascended to elite status.

Behind Watkins the Bills have former Buccaneer Mike Williams and second-year receiver Robert Woods. Williams is strictly a big body on the outside who has been unspectacular other than one big reception against Houston in week four. Woods is a solid number two but he has struggled to date in 2014, although a lot of it may have been due to who was throwing him the passes. Woods has been inconsistent and outside of a strong week one has been almost invisible.

For the Patriots, negating Watkins is the key to slowing the Bills passing game. Getting pressure on Orton should not be impossible as outside of left tackle Cordy Glenn and center Eric Wood, the Bills offensive line has been terrible. Right guard Erik Pears and right tackle Seantrel Henderson seem to be competing to see who is the worse player. Left guard Cyril Richardson was a turnstile last week as he has been filling in for Chris Williams (who was not much better before injuring his back) and if the Patriots have any healthy pass rushers they could generate some pressure on Orton.

Expect the Patriots to roll out a number of different coverage looks throughout the game, but the more they can put cornerback Darrelle Revis on Sammy Watkins and take him out of the game the better the outcome will be for New England. The running backs have been the most consistent targets outside of Watkins, although tight end Scott Chandler–who has had a quiet 2014–always seems to shine against the Patriots.

The Bills running backs C.J. Spiller and veteran Fred Jackson are one of the best one-two punches in the NFL. Jackson gets his pads low and the 33-year-old back still has impressive quickness and speed. He has averaged 4.8 yards per carry and leads the team with 26 receptions. Last week Jackson played 49 offensive snaps to Spiller’s 27 (per ProFootballFocus.com) as Spiller’s struggles continued last week.

The Patriots have struggled against the run this season and the Bills will work to establish the running game early. New England has to maintain gap assignments and not over-pursue as Spiller and Jackson both have the ability to duplicate the ground game of the Kansas City Chiefs in week four on Monday Night Football against New England. There are no shortcuts for the Patriots in run defense. They need their defensive ends to set the edge and have VInce Wilfork and whoever is next to him eating up the Bills weak interior linemen. As long as the linebackers are able to stay in position to clean up the running plays and wrap-up the backs, the Patriots could put the Bills offense in a tough spot.