The Buffalo Bills are off to a 3-0 start and are looking like a legit Super Bowl contender.
Buffalo is coming off a comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers at home. In Week 4, the Bills will host the New England Patriots in their third straight home game.
Ahead of Buffalo’s home game against the Patriots, the Bills defense has some key injuries.
Buffalo Bills Defense Dealing With Key Injuries
Ahead of the Bills’ Week 4 game against New England, Buffalo has some question marks on defense.
Star cornerback Christian Benford didn’t practice on Wednesday as his injury status is uncertain. And, to make matters worse, impact defensive lineman Deone Walker was limited in practice due to a quad injury.
Walker being limited does put his game status on Sunday up in the air. He’ll likely need to log a full practice on Thursday or Friday to feel fully confident he’ll play.
If Walker can’t go, it will be a big loss to the Bills’ defensive line, as he’s been an impact player for Buffalo this season. Walker has recorded 10 tackles and 1 sack this season.
Buffalo selected Walker in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Kentucky. In his rookie year, Walker was a breakout candidate, recording 39 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 fumble recovery.
Buffalo Expecting a Better Pats Offense
The Bills defense has had mixed results this year, and they believe the Patriots offense will be better this week.
Drake Maye has struggled so far this year, but Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said they expect him to be better.
“You turn on the tape from last year, and it was dynamic,” Leonhard said of Maye. “He was playing at a really high level the last half of the year, really all season, right? You talk the regular season. Obviously, he had some slip-ups in the playoffs, but the body of work he put on tape last year in the regular season was obviously MVP-level, so impressive.
“And you’re watching a guy now that you can tell he’s going through some stuff and struggling a little bit, but at the same time he drops back and hits his top step and lets one rip, and it’s an explosive play. So you just have to put some pressure on them and hope that the trend continues. But you know, great players are eventually going to come out the other side. You just hope it’s after you play them.”
The Bills are 6.5-point favorites at home against the Patriots.
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