Patriots vs. Bills: 5 Players To Watch

Here are five players to watch tomorrow night as the Patriots take on the Bills:

1. James White

After Dion Lewis went down with a season ending knee injury, we knew White was going to have to step up in his absence as the primary third down back. Now with Julian Edelman out for the rest of the regular season, White is going to have even more responsibility as a receiver, and also in pass protection (picking up blitzes).

2. Stephen Gilmore/Ronald Darby

Buffalo’s front four gets most of the praise on this defense, but as Tom Brady pointed out earlier this week, their secondary, particularly their two starting corners, has been playing great this season. Gilmore and Darby can hang with the best of them, and Danny Amendola, Brandon LaFell, Keshawn Martin, and Aaron Dobson will have to find ways to beat them in 1-on-1 matchups, because Gronk will be doubled all game long.

3. Patrick Chung

Charles Clay is the Bills’ leading receiver, and Chung is one of the best in the league (possibly the very best) at taking away the tight end in man coverage. Chung probably won’t see Clay all game long, but in key moments, look for Bill Belichick to single up Chung on Clay. It will be a very good matchup to watch.

4. Sammy Watkins

Watkins is Buffalo’s second leading receiver, and he averages over 15 yards a reception. The stats might not show it, but Watkins torched Darrelle Revis last week on Thursday night, and he will likely draw Malcolm Butler tomorrow night. Now, I’m not saying Butler is as good as Revis, but the Super Bowl hero is playing extraordinarily well this season, and is coming off a performance where he pretty much shut down Odell Beckham. Butler vs. Watkins on the outside will be very fun.

5. Pats’ OL

We don’t know if Sebastian Vollmer and Marcus Cannon will be playing, but if they do, this offense will look much better than they have looked for the last few weeks. When Tom Brady has time to throw the ball, even without Julian Edelman, he has enough weapons to move the ball against anybody, including this Bills defense. Because of how depleted the offensive line has been as of late, New England’s offense has been simplified, which in turn has stalled their success at times. Once the line gets healthy, the Pats will start to roll once again.