The Buffalo Bills host a New England Patriots team desperate to avoid a 1-3 start this week, as a loss would give the Bills a three-game lead in the AFC East standings plus a head-to-head tiebreaker. If that situation sounds relatively familiar, it’s because the Bills hosted a Los Angeles Chargers team last week that was desperate to avoid an 0-3 start.
Sometimes, there’s nothing more dangerous than playing a desperate opponent. While the Bills were able to pull a rabbit out of their hat last week,
overcoming five turnovers on their way to a 24-16 win, they certainly don’t want to rely on that kind of magic again. For Buffalo, Sunday’s game is all about playing to their standard and taking care of the business at hand.
The Bills have a chance to put an early-season stamp on the AFC East. Here are five Patriots players we’re watching closely this week in hopes of the Bills shutting them down on their way to victory.
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QB Drake Maye
What is going on with New England’s quarterback? After finishing last season as a leading contender for MVP, Maye turned in a middling postseason run. At the risk of being too blunt, so far this season, Maye has been absolutely terrible. He’s completed just 58% of his passes with one touchdown against a league-leading six interceptions. For context, he threw just eight regular-season interceptions on 492 passing attempts last season. Maye has taken nine sacks this season and fumbled twice, as well. He doesn’t look confident, he’s forcing bad throws into coverage, and he’s a large part of why the Patriots offense has scored just 36 points so far this season. He has plenty of talent, so he’s going to turn it around eventually, but the Bills hope that he waits at least one more week before he manages to do that. Maye’s decline from MVP-level to pedestrianbegan against Buffalo late last season, and he has yet to make an adjustment. Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has the blueprint on how to limit the Patriots’ passing game; now, he has to hope the players can execute the plan. If Maye has another game with multiple interceptions, the Bills will likely have a big day, and it could be a rough morning on Boston-area talk radio.
RB TreVeyon Henderson
With apologies to Rhamondre Stevenson, who is a solid running back, it’s Henderson who offers the most upside. If he can find space against Buffalo’s run fronts, then it will take pressure off of Maye. Success in the run game leads to manageable downs-and-distances, and it also opens up the play-action pass. For a struggling quarterback, a play-action game is a godsend, allowing for simple, “this-or-that” reads against defenders who are just a step behind. If Buffalo can limit Henderson, who has the speed to score from anywhere on the field and the strength to pick up whatever tough yards are necessary, then Maye has to win the game with his arm. That’s something he hasn’t been able to do this season. The run game can also be limited via game script if Buffalo’s offense can come out and play to its potential, but regardless of how it’s done, they’ll need to make sure that Henderson is contained.
The Offensive Line
Who the heck is going to start up front for New England? They’re down two guards, at least, in Mike Onwenu and Greg Van Roten, and they might be without starting right tackle Morgan Moses, as well. Going up against a Buffalo defensive front that has been formidable so far this year, that is not an ideal scenario for an already-struggling offense. Part of limiting Maye and Henderson might come from merely taking advantage of the fact that New England is well below full strength along the offensive line. If Greg Rousseau, Deone Walker, Bradley Chubb, and Ed Oliver—as well as resurgent youngsters like DeWayne Carter and Landon Jackson—can do what they’ve done so far this season, the Bills will have a clear advantage in the trenches. They need to make that advantage felt for 60 minutes.
LB Gabe Jacas
The rookie edge rusher was a bit of a draft crush of mine, as I thought the former Fightin’ Illini product would be a great fit in Buffalo’s new defensive scheme. However, the Bills went with Clemson’s T.J. Parker in Round Two of the 2026 NFL Draft, while the Patriots took Jacas (pronounced ACK-iss, much to the dismay of my 12-year old son). He’s off to a very good start to his NFL career, totaling 1.5 sacks, 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, four QB hits, and an interception already. He plays on most of New England’s defensive snaps, covering 64% of the defensive snaps thus far. He’s looking like a solid complement to veteran edge rusher Christian Ellis, who has one sack through three games. Second-year man Elijah Ponder has 1.5 sacks, as well. There are a few players to look out for on the edges, but for me, it’s the rookie who I think would have been a good fit with the Bills who I’ll be watching this week.
CB Charles Woods
If Christian Gonzalez, who is one of the NFL’s best corners, isn’t available on Sunday, it looks like it will be Woods as the next man up. If that’s the case, New England isn’t in terrible shape. Woods has allowed 6-of-9 passes thrown his way to be caught, but he has yet to allow a touchdown and has held those receivers to just 46 yards so far. New England could certainly do worse, and while Woods’ sample size is small, he hasn’t been a complete disaster. It’s a huge blow for New England if Gonzalez is out, however, and the Bills will have to test the backup to see if he can maintain solid play over a longer stretch. Look for the Bills to attack No. 22 if No. 0 is out for the day.
