Kendrick Bourne COVID piles on Patriots WR worries ahead of Bills showdown

Everything was coming up New England Patriots after the Buffalo Bills lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a little over a week ago. The Pats simply watched themselves gain a game on their division rivals while sitting at home after beating them the week prior.

Fast forward seven days and the script has so quickly been flipped. The Patriots suffered arguably their worst loss of the season when you factor in all three facets of the game coupled with the performance coming off an extra week of rest. That 27-17 defeat at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts appeared a lot more generous than it was.

Meanwhile, the Bills grabbed a win over the Panthers to come within a game of New England, who just lost Kendrick Bourne to the COVID list on Monday. He’s the team’s leading receiver, but that’s hardly the core issue here.

A potential COVID outbreak tops the list. Then comes the decimated wide receiving corps as both N’Keal Harry and Nelson Agholor left Saturday’s game with injuries. Are we about to see a ton of two-tight-end sets and/or Gunner Olszewski split out wide against the Bills on Sunday?

Patriots losing Kendrick Bourne to COVID list really complicates matchup vs Bills.

You, the cocky Patriots fan, might be thinking, “Mac Jones only attempted three passes when we beat the Bills in Buffalo. How is this a problem?!” Well, when is it ever comforting to be almost completely decimated at a single position? And secondly, do you think for a second the Bills will fall victim to a run-only game plan for the second time in three weeks … especially when the weather conditions are allowing Josh Allen to air the ball out and the defense isn’t stuck battling in the trenches for 30 full minutes?

Additionally, an undermanned Patriots roster desperately in need of getting back on the same page after a chaotic week going up against a Bills side that’s seeking revenge isn’t a situation any team wants to be in.

While Agholor’s largely been unimpressive and Harry is essentially just a body on the field at this point, they’re at least used to help others find open space. They’ve played some sort of role in letting Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Henry eat.

The Patriots just forced a one-dimensional game down the Bills’ throats, and then the Colts did the same with a one-dimensional defensive game plan against New England. Mac Jones throwing a season-high 45 times clearly wasn’t a successful plan for the Patriots, and that was with a fully healthy wide receiving corps. Could the Bills put themselves in the same situation they were in two weeks ago when the Patriots ran the ball 46 times … but this time come out on top?

If they do, we might not need to give Bills head coach Sean McDermott any more credit than we need to. After all, it’s all laid out right there for him.

Bills players get angry with media following loss to Patriots

Buffalo Bills defensive backs Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer were not happy with a media member asking a frustrating question after their loss to the Patriots.