Drake Maye, Stefon Diggs and the New England Patriots delivered a statement to the entire NFL back in Week 5, when they traveled to Orchard Park on a Sunday night and handed the then-undefeated Buffalo Bills a stunning, 23-20 defeat.
How loud was that tone-setting moment? The Patriots haven’t lost a game since, second-year quarterback Drake Maye has crashed the NFL’s MVP party, and head coach Mike Vrabel might already be the NFL’s Coach of the Year.
It all sets up the rematch Patriots fans have had circled for weeks — the chance to slay Josh Allen and the Bills, again, to become the NFL’s first division champion of the 2025 season.
The scenario is crystal clear for New England entering Sunday’s 1 p.m. showdown with Buffalo inside Gillette Stadium. A win clinches the Patriots’ first AFC East title since Tom Brady’s final season, 2019, and moves them one step closer to a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs; a loss extends the division race to Week 15, but the Patriots could still clinch a playoff berth on Sunday with losses by both Houston and Indianapolis.
It’s a bit odd to see an 11-2 team that’s passed the eye test and won 10 straight games be considered an underdog at home, but that’s the reality for the Patriots this week as they prepare for Allen and the Bills’ best shot.
Josh Allen’s Superman streak meets the 2025 New England Patriots’ toughest test yet
Patriots fans know exactly why the Bills are expected to leave Foxboro with a win on Sunday, and it comes down to the reigning league MVP.
Dating back to 2022, Allen and the Bills are 17-1 in games played during the month of December, with the lone blemish a ridiculous, 44-42 loss to Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams in 2024; Allen threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns, rushed 10 times for another three scores, took zero sacks, committed zero turnovers… and the Bills somehow lost.
That’s what’s known around the NFL as Superman mode, and Sayre Bedinger of FanSided’s NFL Spin Zone fully expects the Patriots to meet that Man-of-Steel version of Allen at around 1 p.m. (EST) on Sunday.
“Earlier this season, the Patriots proved to the entire NFL world that they’re for real with a big win over the Bills. Now, they’ve got to do it again, and it’ll be fascinating to see how New England responds to the weight of the world on their shoulders. There’s a lot of pressure on them going into this game.
If Allen puts on the Superman cape for this game, the Patriots could be in trouble. And the implications of the Pats losing this one would be huge, because they have to travel to Baltimore next weekend. Prediction: Bills win 27-24.”
Allen’s Superman cape could be the Bills’ best hope against the Patriots, because even as short road favorites for this game, they haven’t been the better team over the balance of the season.
Sean McDermott’s defense enters Week 14 ranked 28th against the run, and they’ve now given up 30-plus points in four of their 13 games. New England, meanwhile, hasn’t allowed a team to score more than 27 points all season. When adjusted for opponent offensive points against only, Vrabel’s Patriots are fourth in the NFL at 17.7 points allowed per game; the Bills are 18th, per Team Rankings.
The most common (and overblown) rebuttal? The Patriots’ success has been bouyed by an easy schedule. While the favorable path so far has been undeniable, the Bills have surprisingly dodged the same criticism despite playing a number of the same lackluster opponents.
Buffalo shares the following non-divisional opponents with New England this year: Baltimore, New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. The major difference is dates with Houston, Kansas City and Philadelphia, due mainly to the Bills winning the division last year; still, the Bills have faced the sixth-easiest schedule this season, per ESPN’s FPI rankings.
Don’t let the 1.5-point spread fool you: The Patriots have the coaching, quarterback, and talent to trade punches with Allen for as long as it takes on Sunday.
We know Allen will throw on the Superman cape. Let’s see if Vrabel and Maye are his December kryptonite.