Patriots vs. Bills: 6 Bold Predictions

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

4. Jamie Collins will make up for lost time

Reports out of New England this week indicate that while he didn’t practice on Wednesday, Collins has kicked the virus that held him out of game action each of the past two weeks and his status for Monday is questionable. With that extra day to recover by virtue of the Pats playing the last game of Week 11, Collins has that much more time to refuel and prepare his body for the Bills.

Upon his return, Collins will make up for the time he missed by registering multiple sacks of Tyrod Taylor, including a strip sack; intercepting a pass; blocking a field goal. One of the major storylines of this game will be Collins re-booting his Defensive Player of the Year candidacy with those monster plays.

During Collins’ absence, the Patriots have gotten by decently with Jonathan Freeny manning the middle of the field alongside Dont’a Hightower. But the Patriots’ defense takes on an entirely new element of scary with Hightower and Collins on the field at the same time, as those two young stars are the best interior linebacker duo in the league.

Collins will climb another rung in the NFL stardom ladder with this huge performance in Week 11.

Next: 3. D-Mac will rebound from poor NYG game with 2 INTs