The New England Patriots are entering the fourth week of the 2026 NFL season off the worst defeat of the Mike Vrabel era, a 35-6 blowout at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now at 1-2 and facing significant questions at quarterback and several other positions on and off the field, the team is in dire need of a rebound and some success to start righting the ship again.
Unfortunately, the next opportunity to do so will see the Patriots go up against one of the best teams in the NFL. The Buffalo
Bills have won all three of their games so far and despite being led by a rookie head coach appear well-positioned to regain the AFC East crown they saw move to New England last season.
Ahead of the two rivals’ Week 4 meeting, let’s take a closer look at the Bills and what to expect from them on Sunday.
Bills key stats
When you start a season with three straight wins, you obviously are doing something right. In the Bills’ case it is playing offensive football. The unit led by former league MVP Josh Allen at quarterback has been one of the best in football no matter how you want to look at it.
Buffalo’s offense has been impressive so far this season, setting up a strength-versus-strength showdown with a Patriots defense that performed really well the first two weeks of the season before its worst outing in a while against the Jaguars last Sunday. New England will need to bring its A-game in order to slow down the Bills, especially in the run game: whereas the Patriots have been uneven defending the run, their upcoming opponent has been as good as any team in the league in that area.
As for Buffalo’s defense, it hasn’t performed on quite the same level. While still good enough to help the team start 3-0, it doesn’t stand out in any particular metric. For a Patriots offense all out of sorts so far this season, this is an opportunity to build some much-needed momentum.
Bills 2026 season
As noted above, the Bills started the year with three straight victories. The first one came on the road against Houston, followed by wins over the Lions and Chargers to move the team to 3-0 and the current second place in the AFC playoff picture.
Week 1: 36-31 win at Houston Texans (1-0)
Week 2: 41-31 win vs. Detroit Lions (2-0)
Week 3: 24-16 win vs. Los Angeles Chargers (3-0)
The Bills have certainly been impressive this year, but their opponents have all struggled as well. The Texans, Lions and Chargers are a combined 2-4 in their other games this year; both of those wins have come courtesy of the Lions.
Bills active roster
Roster up-to-date as of Sept. 30, 8 a.m. ET | *denotes nominal starter
Quarterback (2): Josh Allen* (17), Kyle Allen (11)
Running back (3): James Cook III* (4), Ty Johnson (26), Ray Davis (7)
Wide receiver (6): D.J. Moore* (2), Khalil Shakir* (10), Keon Coleman (o), Joshua Palmer (5), Greg Dortch (19 | KR/PR), Skyler Bell (13)
Tight end (2): Dalton Kincaid* (86), Dawson Knox* (88), Jackson Hawes (85), Keleki Latu (83)
Offensive tackle (4): Dion Dawkins* (73 | LT), Spencer Brown* (79 | RT), Tylan Grable (68), Jude Bowry (74)
Interior offensive line (6): Alec Anderson* (70 | LG), Connor McGovern* (66 | C), O’Cyrus Torrence* (64 | RG), Austin Corbett (63), Lloyd Cushenberry (53), Ar’maj Reed-Adams (60)
Interior defensive line (6): Ed Oliver* (91), Deone Walker* (96), T.J. Sanders (98), Landon Jackson (94), DeWayne Carter (90), Greg Gaines (97)
Defensive edge (6): Greg Rousseau* (15), Bradley Chubb* (9), Michael Hoecht (55), T.J. Parker (99), Mike Danna (51), Javon Solomon (56)
Linebacker (4): Terrel Bernard* (88), Dorian Williams* (42), Kaleb Elarms-Orr (52), Joe Andreessen (44)
Cornerback (4): Christian Benford* (47), Maxwell Hairston* (1), Dee Alford* (23), Davison Igbinosun (21)
Safety (5): C.J. Gardner-Johnson* (22), Cole Bishop* (24), Damar Hamin (3), Sam Franklin Jr. (28), Jalon Kilgore (29)
Specialists (3): Tyler Bass (16 | K), Tommy Doman Jr. (39 | P/H), Reid Ferguson (69 | LS)
As they have been for several years now, the Bills are all about Josh Allen. Possibly the best quarterback in the NFL, he is again off to a hot start.
In three games so far, Allen has completed 56 of 86 pass attempt (65.1%) for 786 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. In addition, he has gained 119 rushing yards and scored a league-leading six touchdowns on 23 non-kneel-down carries. Add his effective rushing performance — 5.2 yards per carry — to his passing success and you get a quarterback currently ranked fourth in the NFL in EPA per play (0.355). For comparison, his Patriots counterpart Drake Maye is ranked 28th (-0.070).
For as much of a cheat-code he can be, Allen cannot sustainably carry the Bills offense by himself. Luckily, his supporting cast has been top-notch as well, especially two players: running back James Cook, who has 346 rushing yards, two touchdowns, and a league-best 6.0 yards per carry to his name, and tight end Dalton Kincaid, catcher of a team-best 14 passes for 263 yards and a score.
Cook and Kincaid are two of the best players on an offense also heavily featuring the likes of D.J. Moore (11-167-1), Khalil Shakir (8-94-0) and Keon Coleman (8-101-0). Meanwhile, Joshua Palmer has scored on both of his receptions for a combined 77 yards.
The skill positions are complemented by a stout offensive line whose starters have all been with the team last year as well and who have played plenty of football together. That chemistry in combination with creative play designs and well-timed calls has allowed Buffalo to control the line of scrimmage in all three of its games thus far.
Defensively, Gregory Rousseau is the name to watch and somebody capable of giving the right side of the Patriots line all sort of problems. His six sacks are the most in the NFL so far this season, as are his three forced fumbles.
The Bills’ defensive line is a pick-your-poison unit up front, with Rousseau complemented by Bradley Chubb and a talented interior pairing in Ed Oliver and Deone Walker. If the top dog commands extra attention, the others are more than capable of winning 1-on-1s elsewhere.
Behind the talented front four, the Bills are again led by starting linebackers Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams; despite the team’s extensive coaching changes, the two have remained in place as the top two at the position.
Consistency in general has been a common theme for the Bills in multiple areas across their roster. One exception is the secondary, where two starters — safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and nickel CB Dee Alford — only joined the team through free agency in March. Both have performed well this year, with Gardner-Johnson notching the team’s only interception so far. On the outside, Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston are a solid pairing.
Speaking of solid, Tyler Bass has gone 4-for-4 on field goals and 11-of-12 on extra points so far this year. Greg Dortch is averaging 9.0 yards per punt return.
Bills reserves
Practice squad (16): QB Shane Buechele (6), RB Frank Gore Jr. (20), FB Brock Lampe (45), WR Stephen Gosnell (89), WR Ja’Mori Maclin (84), WR Trent Sherfield (81), OT Chase Lundt (77), OT Jedrick Wills (71), DT Travis Clayton (67 | exempt), DT Austin Johnson (93), LB Keonta Jenkins (49), LB Shaq Thompson (54), CB Te’Cory Couch (33), CB Anthony Kendall (30), CB Kani Walker (41), S Geno Stone (25)
IR (2): DT Zane Durant (92), CB Jordan Hancock (37)
PUP/NFI (2): WR Tyrell Shavers (14), CB Dorian Strong (43)
One of the Bills’ biggest advantages this season so far has been their ability to stay relatively healthy. They have just four players on an injury-related reserve list at the moment, and none of them would typically play a sizable role within their respective units.
In addition to small reserve contingent, the Bills have some notable names on their practice squad. Offensive tackle Jedrick Wills and linebacker Shaq Thompson are former first-round draft picks and multi-year starters at their respective positions, while fullback Brock Lampe originally entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the Patriots in 2025.
Bills coaching staff
Head coach: Joe Brady
Coordinators: Pete Carmichael Jr. (OC), Jim Leonhard (DC), Jeff Rodgers (ST)
After suffering more playoff heartbreak with a divisional round exit in January, the Bills decided to fire head coach Sean McDermott after nine seasons and a combined record of 106-58. They eventually opted to promote offensive coordinator Joe Brady to the vacant position, and he surrounded himself with a competent staff: Pete Carmichael and Jim Leonhard were both poached from the Broncos, while veteran special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers was brought in to oversee the kicking game.
Also part of Brady’s staff are some names familiar to Patriots fans. Bo Hardegree, a one-time offensive assistant, is serving as quarterbacks coach, with former backup QB Trace McSorley an assistant on the offensive staff.
