BILLS-PATRIOTS PREVIEW | Mafia BPA

Jim and Owen discuss if Josh Allen and James Cook can dethrown AFC Champions Drake Maye and the New England Patriots #BILLS #BillsMafia #BuffaloBills #BillsNation #BillsNews #JoshAllen #dailynews Sunday’s AFC East opener at Highmark Stadium has the feel of a season-shaping afternoon. The Buffalo Bills, 3-0 and riding the league’s highest-scoring offense, host the New England Patriots, 1-2 and still searching for the form that carried them to an AFC East title and a Super Bowl appearance last season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on CBS in Orchard Park, with the Bills favored by about six and a half points in the first Patriots visit to the new Highmark Stadium. Josh Allen is again playing at an MVP clip. Through three games he has thrown for 786 yards and five touchdowns while Buffalo averages 33.7 points. He closed last week with a 24-16 win over the Chargers despite three of Buffalo’s five turnovers, a reminder of the competitive stamina coach Joe Brady keeps citing. James Cook remains the engine of the ground game after a 154-yard outing, and the pass rush is led by Greg Rousseau, who already has a league-high six sacks and three forced fumbles. Bradley Chubb, Ed Oliver, and Deone Walker give that front real depth. Keon Coleman (ankle) and D.J. Moore (shoulder) are among the names to watch on the injury report. Drake Maye has not yet matched last year’s form. He has one touchdown pass against six interceptions and a lost fumble, and New England’s offense has managed only two offensive touchdowns in three games. Mike Vrabel has urged his quarterback to loosen his grip and simply play. The run game is the clearest path forward: Rhamondre Stevenson, who needs only a modest afternoon to climb the franchise rushing list, and TreVeyon Henderson must create balance against a Bills defense that has been vulnerable on the ground. Hunter Henry offers a reliable target in the middle. The offensive line is thinner after Mike Onwenu and Greg Van Roten landed on injured reserve, and New England has already allowed nine sacks. Christian Gonzalez, Christian Barmore, and Morgan Moses were limited or absent early in the week. Recent history favors chaos. New England won in Buffalo last season and rode that result toward the division title; Buffalo answered with a 35-31 December win in Foxborough. Over the last four meetings the average margin has been only about four points, even though the all-time series still belongs to the Patriots, 80-52-1. A Buffalo win would open a three-game division lead. A Patriots upset would reset a season that has already included a Super Bowl rematch loss in Seattle and a 35-6 defeat in Jacksonville. Expect Allen to test New England’s secondary early, Stevenson and Henderson to try to shorten the game, and Rousseau to hunt Maye behind a patched-up line. In this rivalry, records rarely settle the argument before the fourth quarter. #BillsMafia #GoPats #NFL #AFCEast #JoshAllen #DrakeMaye #NEPats #GoBills ______________________________________________ https://overreactionbuffalo.com Follow us on Twitter: https:// twitter.com/OverreactionBuf Follow us on IG: https://Instagram.com/OverreactionBuf Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@OverreactionBuf Follow Joe Miller on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/@joemillerwired Watch Joe on the Overreaction Postgame Show, Off Tackle with John Fina and Hump Day Hotline (Homage affiliate link https://homage.sjv.io/AWLzQo) Follow Jerry Ostroski on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/@Ostroski_BigO Watch Jerry on the BIG O Show, Overreaction Postgame Show, and On the Beat Follow John Fina on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/@JohnFina Watch John on the Off Tackle with John Fina Show and the Overreaction Postgame Show Find all the Overreaction Buffalo Sports web content at https://overreactionbuffalo.com and https://linktr.ee/OverreactionBuffalo Overreaction Discord Community- https://discord.gg/mHsCMqf8 Be sure to subscribe to stay up to date on all of the Overreaction Buffalo shows! Follow our entire catalogue: Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overreaction-buffalo/id1483075570 www.fanduel.com