Getty Josh Allen looks out across the field during their Monday Night Football matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have dominated the Buffalo Bills for the last 20-plus years, but the tables have finally turned in Buffalo’s favor and Belichick sang nothing but praises in his Wednesday video conference call.
Through 14 games this season, the Bills have produced the sixth-most total yards in the NFL (386.7) and they average the second-most passing yards per game with 278.5, behind only the Kansas City Chiefs and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Bills have also scored 34.8 points per game since the last time they played the Patriots this season.
Josh Allen has made leaps and bounds compared to when he played Belichick as a rookie. He’s currently fourth in the NFL with 4,000 passing yards and is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000-plus yards, 30-plus touchdowns, and eight-plus rushing touchdowns.
But altogether, Belichick believes that the Bills have one of the top offenses in the league.
“They’ve scored a lot of points, they are good in the red area, they move the ball and they get in the end zone,” Belichick said in Wednesday’s video conference call. “They are a very explosive team, and they’ve been really impressive.”
Even though Tua Tagovailoa took down the Patriots this past weekend, Belichick is notoriously good against rookie quarterbacks and showed that during Allen’s first year as they limited him to just 217 yards passing and 30 yards rushing in their only matchup. But, Allen has made big improvements over the last two years.
He’s improved his completion percentage by almost 16 points compared to his rookie season and he’s also having one of the best seasons of any quarterback in the NFL. Belichick has seen that improvement from afar and believes it comes from the experience Allen has gained over the past three years.
“I think like most players, as they gain more experience, more confidence, and get familiar with the system, they improve, Belichick said during his video conference call on Wednesday. “He’s done that and they have a well-balanced team. They have a lot of players at a lot of positions and they utilize them in multiple ways. He’s done a good job of orchestrating it and being a key playmaker in the offense.”
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Allen Knows the Patriots Are Still A Team To Watch
One win over the Patriots and an AFC East title doesn’t erase the years of domination by the Patriots and heading into their second matchup of the season, Allen knows that.
He’s played Belichick enough to know that you can’t underestimate him and the Patriots.
“This is obviously a Patriots team that is extremely well-coached and we know that AFC East games are tough to win, especially the second time around,” Allen said during a video conference call. “You arguably have the greatest football coaching that team too, so they are always going to be ready, always going to be prepared. So, we gotta be on our P’s and Q’s.”
Before this season, Allen was 0-3 against the Patriots, but he has thrown for 732 yards, three touchdowns, and six interceptions against the Patriots. He’s also rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
For The First Time In A Long Time
When the Bills enter their Monday Night Football matchup against the New England Patriots, they have the opportunity to sweep the Patriots in AFC East play for the first time since 1999. Before their win earlier this season, the Bills hadn’t beaten the Patriots since their Week 4 matchup in 2016. The Bills came out on top 16-0.
In 1999, the Bills beat the Patriots 17-7 in Week 2, and then they also won 13-10 in overtime in Week 16. The Patriots have the seventh-ranked defense in the league this year, allowing just 21.5 points per game.
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