Even though the 2024 New England Patriots can pull off the most surprising of victories when you least expect it, this matchup on the road in against the Buffalo Bills is not going to be a fun one to watch. The winners of five straight division titles, the Bills have a leading MVP candidate in Josh Allen as their quarterback, along with a well-coached team that is hoping that this will finally be the year where they get over the hump and win a championship. Simply put, the objective for Buffalo in their last three games of the season is to simply take care of business, since they play the Patriots twice and the New York Jets at home.
New England, on the other hand, is just attempting anything they can to finish their year on a high note. The ultimate likelihood is that they will finish with the third overall pick in the NFL draft, and while Travis Hunter would be an outstanding player to have on the roster, he alone is not going to fix the several flaws of their roster. Today is not a time to point out what the Patriots could do to pull off a surprising victory or what they need to do to avoid defeat. Instead, let’s point out five things to expect in Highmark Stadium because the Bills are going to make sure that this is nowhere near a close game.
Patriots Preview Week 16
1. Josh Allen Has Been Virtually Unstoppable
In his last two games, Allen has surged to the top of the MVP race. Against the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions, the Bills offense combined for 1,004 total yards and ninety points. Their quarterback was responsible for 854 of those yards accumulated and sixty-two of those points scored. The common denominator was that neither the Rams nor the Lions have superb defenses, so the main belief is that Allen is going to pick up where he left off against a Patriots defense that has been atrocious all season long.
Right now, the Bills quarterback is leading the entire NFL in quarterback rating mainly due to the fact that he has scored thirty-six total touchdowns and has turned it over just seven times. Buffalo is also tied for the lead in turnover differential at +18 with the fewest giveaways, while New England’s defense is tied for the third-fewest takeaways in the league with eleven. Unless the Bills inexplicably play down to their competition and lay an egg on their home field, it is almost guaranteed that their offense should score on almost every single possession, especially since the Patriots’ defense will be without a key player for the rest of the season.
2. Christian Barmore Shut Down for the Season
After experiencing recurring symptoms from blood clots that he was diagnosed with over the summer, the Patriots decided to shut down defensive tackle Christian Barmore for the rest of the season by placing him on the Non-Football Illness Reserve List. The fact that he even returned to practice, let alone play a snap in a game, is extremely admirable and honorable.
Unfortunately, it was very clear that he was nowhere near the same player that he was last year when he led the team in sacks. At this point, playing three meaningless games should not be important. What really matters is him living a long and healthy life, and if there is a chance that he could return to the football field, then there is no doubt that the Patriots will welcome him back with open arms because he is that valuable of a teammate and player to have in their locker room. That is all there is to say because this is bigger than football.
3. The Patriots Offense: To Show Up or Not to Show Up
One of the biggest pet peeves in the profession of sports journalism is redundancy because the last thing a commentator should do is the same thing over and over, even if they are applying it to different contexts. However, redundancy is also something that the Patriots offense has perfected all season long. Although the opponents on the schedule are different from week to week, they continue to make the same mistakes that are simply depressing at this point in the season.
Buffalo’s defense is hampered by key injuries, so there is a good chance that Drake Maye might have some help in the late afternoon window on Sunday, but this is the New England Patriots offense we are talking about. Any time that there is a sliver of hope that they could play well, they crush that false hope within a matter of seconds with just one sack or turnover.
4. Jerod Mayo Could Be Fighting For His Job
Over the last few weeks, there have been plenty of rumors and reports that Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo could be fired at the end of the 2024 season. Some of them have pointed out that owner Robert Kraft is trying to give him another chance in 2025, but the patience might be running thin. The politics of firing a head coach after one year is always troubling and unfair. Unless the situation is extremely toxic and requires drastic measures, then the organization should keep him around, for the simple fact that it is up to the head coach to turn things around in that locker room.
However, Mayo does not make things easy when he throws his players and assistants under the bus for the mistakes that happen on the field. Sure, they deserve responsibility, but it is up to the head coach to make sure that things get fixed. This game against the Bills will speak volumes as to whether the team should keep him for the upcoming season because if this turns into an expected blowout, the Kraft family is going to have a long and tough conversation about what they want to do with their franchise.
5. The Special Teams is Somehow Still a Liability
Many thought that the special teams would finally come back to life under new special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer, but unfortunately, it is still as just as big of a liability as it was the year before. Placekicker Chad Ryland might have had an abysmal rookie season with ten missed kicks, but he managed to turn his career around when he signed a deal with the Arizona Cardinals after he was released in August.
Joey Slye won the starting job in training camp, and since then, he has missed seven field goals and an extra point. Obviously, Springer should not be fired since it is also his first year, but punter Bryce Baringer cannot continue to be the only bright spot that they have. This is a situation that the Patriots also need to get correct over the offseason, or else this unit will continue to cost them winnable football games.
Main Image: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
