The Bills don’t start their season until Sunday, when they travel to face the Houston Texans, but two games have already been played in the NFL, and one has impacted Buffalo in a major way.
On Wednesday night, the Patriots traveled to face the Seattle Seahawks and lost the game 13-10. However, one of the biggest stories wasn’t the result, but who New England lost in the game.
New England Traded for Brown This Offseason
Wide receiver A. J. Brown suffered a high ankle sprain in the second half, and the Patriots placed him on injured reserve on Friday, which means he will have to miss the next four games.
Brown will miss the Patriots vs. Bills Week 4 matchup at Highmark Stadium on Oct. 4.
The Patriots traded a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in June for Brown.
“I was just talking to my mom and saying, ‘I’m still in awe.'” Brown said shortly after the Eagles traded him to New England in early June, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “Walking up the hill with the uniform, I was like, ‘Man, this is real.’ I caught myself at one point in practice; I wasn’t paying attention because I was like, ‘dang.’ Just trying to take it all in as much as I can.”
Brown is in his eighth NFL season, having spent his first three years with the Tennessee Titans before heading to the Eagles for the last four. He has recorded 527 receptions for 8,055 yards and 56 touchdowns in 106 games. Throughout his career, he has made three Pro Bowls, appeared in two Super Bowls and won one ring.
The 6-foot-1 receiver recorded three receptions for 26 yards in his first game with New England.
Buffalo Lost the AFC East Last Season
This is a big season for the Bills, as New England walked in and stole the AFC East from Buffalo last season.
Ever since Tom Brady left the Patriots after the 2019 season, the Bills won five straight AFC East titles, but that ended when New England’s second-year quarterback Drake Maye had a great season and finished second in MVP voting.
“Yeah, that sucks not giving ourselves a chance,” Josh Allen said last December. “We’re still in the playoffs, and that’s the main thing.”
The Bills made the playoffs as a wild card team and beat the Jaguars in Jacksonville in the first round but fell to the Broncos in Denver in the divisional round.
New England made it to the Super Bowl last season but lost to Seattle. Now all the pressure is on Buffalo to reclaim the AFC East and reach the Super Bowl.
Outside of the Bills’ Oct. 4 home matchup with the Patriots, they’ll also take on New England on the road on Dec. 6.
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