New England Patriots: Eye on the Competition: the AFC Contenders in Week 14
By Hal Bent
BUFFALO BILLS:
Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Buffalo is now two games out of the Wild Card with three games to play in the season. The Bills lost a close game to the Philadelphia Eagles which was full of poor execution, sloppy penalties, and the defense giving up big plays at the wrong time. In short, a Rex Ryan coached team.
The Bills seem to have found a diamond in the rough with quarterback Tyrod Taylor, but as the season has progressed and teams pickup more game tape on him, the numbers are trending downward. He has now had four straight games–starting with the Patriots in week 11–with less than a 60% completion rate after topping 60% in six of his first seven games this year.
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The Bills have struggled on defense despite the wealth of talent as the unit has gone from one of the best pre-Rex to an undisciplined, middle-of-the-road unit despite adding probable defensive rookie of the year Ronald Darby to an already strong secondary. Injuries to safety Aaron Williams and tackle Kyle Williams have hurt, but all teams in the NFL are dealing with injuries.
HOW IT IMPACTS THE PATRIOTS:
The Bills play Washington and Dallas in the next two weeks and should have a good chance to beat both of those flawed NFC East teams. They finish with the Jets at home in a game of huge importance to Rex Ryan, particularly if he has a chance to knock his old team out of the playoffs in week 17.
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The Bills are a longshot to make the playoffs and the struggling Buffalo offense would have trouble putting points on the board against the Patriots in Foxboro if the Bills made some amazing run late in the season. That said, does Rex Ryan have one more magic defensive gameplan for Tom Brady? The good news for the Patriots is that they may not have to worry about it after the Bills loss to the Eagles.