Patriots just got the one boost that could wreck Buffalo’s Sunday

Mike Vrabel arrived at his Friday afternoon press conference with some good news for fans of the New England Patriots.

For Week 15 of the regular season, Vrabel’s team is about as healthy as you could hope for entering this final four-week stretch run.

Aside from their pair of prominent starters on injured reserve — left tackle Will Campbell and defensive tackle Milton Williams — the Patriots expect to be at full strength for Sunday’s showdown with the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium, where a win would clinch New England’s first AFC East title since 2019.

Reserve running back Terrell Jennings will miss the game with a concussion, and middle linebacker Robert Spillane is officially questionable with a foot issue, but the news signals positive signs for guys like Christian Barmore, Khyiris Tonga, Harold Landry, Jared Wilson, and Brenden Schooler. That group needed the extra week to get healthy, and of them, only Barmore was listed as a limited participant in Friday’s practice.

Per Patriots reporter Mike Reiss of ESPN, Barmore was given the end of Friday’s practice off for precautionary reasons. He’s expected to be a full-go against the Bills, and defensive force up front is exactly with the Patriots will need on Sunday.

Patriots’ sudden health boost sets up a brutal problem for the Bills

The Patriots, obviously, will be focusing the majority of their efforts defensively on containing MVP quarterback Josh Allen.

But back in Week 5, when the Patriots rolled into Buffalo and beat the Bills, 23-20, New England frustrated Allen's flow by taking away his No. 1 weapon — running back James Cook.

Cook already has seven 100-yard rushing games this season, including in two of Buffalo’s last three games. The Bills are 6-1 this season when their explosive running back hits the century mark, and 3-3 when he fails to hit triple digits. 

One of those losses came against New England, who held Cook to 49 scoreless yards on 15 attempts, and also shut him out in the receiving game.

Tonga, who’s been out since Week 12 with a chest injury, was among the Patriots’ key cogs against the run in that game, along with Spillane, who had his Patriots coming out party with six solo tackles, five run stuffs, and a forced fumble.

Missing Williams for Week 15 certainly hurts, but Vrabel should have the players he needs to make life difficult for the Bills, yet again, on the ground in Sunday’s matchup. Buffalo becomes extremely vulnerable in that type of situation, as Allen’s top targets in the passing game — Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, Gabe Davis, and tight end Dalton Kincaid — aren’t the type to strike fear in a secondary led by Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones.

All the pieces seem to be falling into place for the Patriots, who have won 10 straight games and are about as healthy as any NFL team could hope to be entering their biggest test of the season.