New England (2-2) at Buffalo (4-0)
Sunday 8:20 p.m. EDT, NBC
Against the spread: Bills 2-2; Patriots 2-2
Series record: Patriots lead 79-51-1
Last meeting: Patriots beat Bills 23-16 in Foxborough, Mass. on Jan. 5, 2025.
Last week: Patriots beat Carolina 42-13 at home. Bills beat New Orleans 31-19 at home.
Patriots offense: overall (14), rush (25), pass (7), scoring (10t).
Patriots defense: overall (16), rush (2t), pass (26), scoring (10t).
Bills offense: overall (2), rush (1), pass (6), scoring (2).
Bills defense: overall (11), rush (31), pass (1), scoring (17).
Turnover differential: Patriots minus-3; Bills plus-3;
WR Stefon Diggs. This marks Diggs' first competitive return to Buffalo since being traded to Houston in April 2024, following four prolific seasons with the Bills. He had six catches for 101 yards last week against Carolina, marking the 37th career 100-yard receiving game of his career and first as a member of the Patriots. If he reaches 100 yards this week, it will be his first game with back-to-back 100-yard receiving outings since a four-game run in 2023.
RB James Cook. The fourth-year player has topped 100 yards from scrimmage in all four outings, ranks second in the NFL with 401 yards rushing, and scored a league-leading five TDs rushing entering Week 5. His 21 rushing touchdowns since the start of 2024 lead the league.
QB Drake Maye versus Bills defensive front. Buffalo’s struggles against the run this season include having difficulty defending against mobile quarterbacks. The Bills have allowed QBs to gain 199 yards rushing through four outings, including 70 by Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson. Maye ranks second on the Patriots with 98 yards rushing and leads the team with two TDs rushing.
Patriots LB K'Lavon Chaisson (knee), Milton Williams (ankle), CB Carlton Davis III (illness), LB Jahlani Tavai (calf) are the only players listed as questionable. ... The Bills are getting healthier with starting DT Ed Oliver (ankle) and starting LB Matt Milano (pectoral) both returning to practice this week. The two are listed as questionable, as is starting RT Spencer Brown, who missed one game with a calf injury. Two backups, CB Dorian Strong (neck) and LB Dorian Williams (knee), were ruled out.
The tables have very much turned since Tom Brady left New England following the 2019 season. After the Patriots dominated the series by going 33-4 spanning 2001 and 2019, the Bills have won eight of the past 11 — including a 47-17 win in the 2021 playoffs. Buffalo is 5-1 at home against the Pats since 2020, with their only loss a 14-10 decision on a cold, gusty night in which then-New England quarterback Mac Jones completed 2 of 3 attempts for 19 yards.
The Patriots are looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since 2022 when they won three straight. ... New England's 42 points against the Panthers were the most the Patriots scored in a game without Bill Belichick as coach since 1996. ... If New England scores at least 30 points against Buffalo, it will be the Patriots' first back-to-back games with at least 30 points since 2020. The previous time they had 40 points in consecutive games was in 2015, when the team followed a 40-32 win over Buffalo with a 51-17 win over Jacksonville. ... Maye is coming off his third consecutive game completing at least 75% of his passes and throwing two or more touchdown passes. Only Brady, in the first four weeks of his 2007 MVP season, has a longer single-season streak in NFL history. ... CB Marcus Jones was the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter last week. The Patriots have never had consecutive games with punt return touchdowns. ... LB Robert Spillane finished with 15 tackles last week, his second straight week with double-digit tackles. ... The Bills have won 14 straight regular-season home games, a run going back to a 24-22 loss to Denver in November 2023. Buffalo’s streak is one short of matching the team record set spanning the 1990-91 seasons. ... The Bills have a chance to open a season 5-0 for the first time since 1991, and fourth time in team history, including a 9-0 start in 1964 as an AFL franchise. ... Buffalo has scored 30 or more points in each of its first four outings for just the third time in team history (1975 and 1992). ... Josh Allen threw his first interception of the season last weekend, and second in 13 starts, including playoffs. He’s 45-27 when committing a turnover. ... Allen had his 45th game with at least one TD passing and rushing to match the record held by Cam Newton. ... Cook set a team record by scoring a TD rushing in eight straight games, going back to last season. ... The Bills have scored a TD on each of their four game-opening drives, and improved to 11-1 when doing so since the start of last year. ... Second-year S Cole Bishop had his first career interception by picking off Saints receiver Chris Olave’s pass attempt on a trick play. ... Despite allowing an average 164 yards rushing per outing, the Bills have held their past three opponents to fewer than 300 yards. It’s the team’s best stretch since the final four games of 2023.
When it comes to Cook, don’t be scared away by New England’s defense tied for second in the NFL against the run. Three of the Patriots' first four opponents enter Week 5 ranking 21st or lower in yards rushing, with only the Raiders (14th) in the top half of the league. Cook’s usage in both the run and passing game are a plus, too.
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