Pats Preview: Pats Vs. Bills

As the New England Patriots prepare to welcome divisional opponent the Buffalo Bills to town, let's take a look at some of the top story lines headed into the AFC East bout.

Who's At QB?- With both Jimmy Garoppolo (right shoulder) and Jacoby Brissett (right thumb) battling injuries and listed as questionable on the injury report, it is currently unclear as to who will be New England's quarterback in their last week without Tom Brady. While both have been limited participants at practice this week, the edge should be given to Garoppolo. If both are healthy enough to dress, Garoppolo, having more experience in the system and as a pro, will likely be under center for the Patriots. While the velocity hasn't quite appeared for the third year quarterback during practice this week, the fact that he's been throwing and getting used to playing with the pain is a good sign for his availability on Sunday. Expecting that he'll take some sort of cortisone shot prior to game time, he should be able to give the Pats one last week of service before the G.O.A.T walks back through the door.

Feeding Blount- The Patriots have done a good job of utilizing power running back LeGarrette Blount, through the first three weeks of the season. As they have battled injuries and inexperience at the quarterback position, Blount has helped carry the load for the team and even received the AFC Offensive Player of the Month Award for September. Through the first month of the season, the Oregon product has carried the ball 75 times for 298 yards and four scores. With one of two banged up quarterbacks set to start for New England Sunday, look for Blount to receive his fair share of touches again. If he can carry his September success into the first week of October the team should be able to pull out a fourth straight win.

Focus Up Front- Another key aspect for New England will be the play of their offensive line. With Rex Ryan coming to town, the Pats can bet that the defensive minded coach will be throwing the kitchen sink at them, especially with questions about who will be under center and that player's overall health. That will force the Pats offensive line to step up like they have throughout the first month of the season. Coming off of a season in which the o-line struggled mightily and ultimately became one of the top reasons that the team lost in the AFC Championship game, the team brought back retired line coach Dante Scarnecchia to try and rejuvenate the unit. Scarnecchia has seemingly done just that, taking a young and star-deficient group of blockers and helping them to exceed expectations so far. In fact, much of the success of Blount thus far can be attributed to solid blocking up front and the line allowing him to hit the hole that the play is designed for. With an emphasis on the run game and a banged up quarterback in the backfield, the New England line will need to be on their A game once again and up to the challenge of a hungry Rex Ryan defense to pull out another W.

Planning For Rex- It's no secret that Bills head coach Rex Ryan always tries to bring his best when his teams come up against Bill Belichick and the Patriots. Surprisingly enough the underachieving head coach has actually put together some solid defensive game plans against the Patriots, over the past years. This time around, he won't have to deal with Brady either. What Ryan does have against him, however, is that he can't be exactly sure who will be under center for New England come Sunday. While both options are banged up and young, Ryan doesn't have a lot of film on either and has yet to actually face either quarterback, making his planning somewhat tentative. Also he can't really be sure how limited Garoppolo is, if he gets the green light to play. Expect both Belichick and Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to devise a plan that uses Ryan's unfamiliarity with the quarterback options to their advantage. This is the type of situation where the Patriots usually thrive, putting together a game plan that the opponent may never see coming.

Stopping The Run- The Patriots are one of the more talented teams in the league, when it comes to singling out what their opponent does best on offense and then taking that aspect away from them. For the Bills, that would be the running game which is led by top tailback LeSean McCoy and mobile quarterback Tyrod Taylor. McCoy has, when healthy, been one of the top backs in the league for the last eight years and still possess the shifty ability to make would-be tacklers miss both behind the line of scrimmage and down the field. Carrying the ball 48 times for 227 yards and 4.7 yards per carry so far this season, he has been a headache for defenses early on. Couple that with Taylor, who's nickname, T-Mobile, lends itself to his ability to move in and out of the pocket, and the Bills have a solid one-two punch. With that in mind, New England will have to find a way to keep the running game at bay, starting with the big bodies up front. Playing against probably the best offensive line they've seen so far, New England's defensive line will have to utilize the skill of veterans Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard along with second year defensive end Trey Flowers on the edges to push the run back into the middle where the big defensive tackles wait. Keeping both McCoy and Taylor inside the tackles and limiting their chances outside the numbers will be the best way to slow the run and consequently slow the Buffalo offense, which struggles mightily in the passing game with the leagues last ranked air attack.

Winning The TO Battle- While the Patriots enter the game at 3-0 and the Bills come in at just 1-2, just securing their first win at home last week, both teams have proven to be above average in terms of turnover differential. Buffalo actually comes into the divisional match up with the third highest turnover differential in the league at plus five, while New England is hot on their tales with a plus four turnover mark. As most games go, whichever team can find a way to win the turnover battle in this game will likely leave the field victorious.

Prediction- Although the Bills are coming off of their first win of the season and whoever plays quarterback for the Pats will likely be far less than 100 percent, New England should still win this game. The New England coaching staff is far superior to their counterparts from Buffalo and should be able to outsmart the Ryan brothers and company with game plans on both sides of the ball. Assuming that the edge rushers for the Pats can force the run inside and keep Taylor contained in the pocket, Buffalo should struggle to do anything offensively. Like they have done so far this season, the Patriots offense should be able to find a way to protect their young quarterback and devise a game plan that puts enough points on the board. Look for the Pats to move to 4-0, just ahead of the return of Brady.

Patriots 23, Bills 9