Getty Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (L) compares this upcoming rematch against Mac Jones (R) the New England Patriots to a 'dog fight.'
Anticipation over the Buffalo Bills‘ upcoming matchup against the New England Patriots in Week 16 grows more and more each day. Not only will the victor become the top seed in the AFC East, but they will also guarantee themselves a playoffs spot.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen spoke to the media about their rematch against the Patriots on Wednesday, December 22, noting that he expects the game to be extremely physical.
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“My college coach used to say. ‘There’s two dogs and only one piece of meat,’ It’s gonna be a dogfight,” ” Allen said, per WROC-TV reporter Thad Brown.
There’s no beating around the bush that Sunday is a must-win game for the Bills, and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is urging his players to get fired up from the pressure.
“It’s the competition you’re looking for,” Daboll said, pew Bills Wire. “That’s (why) December football games are what they are. High competition level, usually some type of stakes at it. It’ll be an important week.”
Bills Defensive Coordinator Says It’s Time to ‘Fight, Fight, Fight’
The #Bills defense feels ‘a lack of respect’ by the narrative in the media.
Jordan Poyer says they use it as motivation and ‘fuel for their fire’
During the Bills lost 14-10 loss against the Patriots in Week 13, Buffalo’s defense missed 17 tackles, and as for New England’s 222 rushing yards, 163 of those took place after contact, according to News 1 Buffalo’s Jon Scott.
Bills safety Jordan Poyer said on Wednesday that “he and other Bills defenders admit their tackling performance against the Patriots was their worst of the season,” Scott tweeted, noting the importance of “everyone getting to the ball as critical.”
Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is confident in his players and says they’re ready to make up for their lackluster performance three weeks ago.
“The fact that our guys have that stick-to-it attitude, that’s a big deal in our league because there’s gonna be some ups and downs and highs and lows,” Frazier said. “You’re going to need a resilient group and you need a high-character group of guys to be able to fight through things. And they’ve shown that over the last few weeks and they continue to fight, fight, fight, and make plays when we need to make plays.”
Patriots Offensive Coordinator Calls the Bills Rematch a ‘Tug of War’
GettyNew England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels stands on the field before their game against the Dallas Cowboys at Gillette Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
While it sounds like the Bills are ready to use every weapon possible to beat the Patriots in Week 16, New England’s offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels seems to have the same game plan.
“Whenever you play a division opponent this close together there’s always a bit of a tug of war,” said McDaniels on Tuesday, per Patriots Wire. “You may have had success with something and then you say, ‘We’ve got to do this again, right?’ But the other team knows you had success with it so they try to stop it, they may do some things differently, play it differently.”
Sean McDermott said even though the Patriots beat the Bills 3 weeks ago and controlled the game, he expects Bill Belichick’s staff to make changes and adjust to play the 2nd time.
While teams around the NFL are getting ravaged by COVID-19, both the Bills and the Patriots have avoided major breakouts. As of Wednesday, the Bills have five active-roster players on Reserve COVID 19: linebacker Tyrel Dodson, left tackle Dion Dawkins, guard Jon Feliciano, defensive end A.J. Epenesa, and wide receiver Cole Beasley.
As for the Patriots, they have six players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list: receiver Kendrick Bourne, linebackers Harvey Langi, Cameron McGrone, and Ronnie Perkins, guard Yasir Durant, and running back J.J. Taylor.
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Bills Ready for Intense ‘Dog Fight’ Against the Patriots in Week 16