Bills quarterback Josh Allen throws a pass during pregame at Ford Field prior to playing the Lions on Dec. 15.
Jay Skurski
A question to ponder: Does beating the Patriots mean as much now that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are gone? You don't need a Magic 8 ball to conclude all signs point to a Buffalo victory. Head coach Sean McDermott has traditionally feasted on rookie quarterbacks, and while New England's Drake Maye has flashed promise, his supporting cast, in the words of the Grinch, stink, stank, stunk. Josh Allen should continue to build his MVP case, James Cook and Co. should control the clock with the running game and the defense should be able to have a bounce-back performance after back-to-back weeks of giving up 40-plus points. The holiday celebrations start early with a laugher of a win. Bills, 40-17.聽
Katherine Fitzgerald
The NFL scheduling gods flexed this game to 4:25 p.m. because they believed the United States of America should see quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills dunk on a 3-11 Patriots team. This is not the New England of yesteryear, and this game was not flexed because of its competitive nature. Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye could cause the Bills fits in the future, but right now, New England does not have the supporting cast around him for the team to be effective. The Bills' defense will want to clean things up after giving up 40-plus points in back-to-back contests. Still, the Patriots may score a few more points late once this game has been long out of hand. Bills, 34-20.
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Ryan O'Halloran
To fend off any complacency, all Bills coach Sean McDermott has to do is show the video of last year鈥檚 two games against New England, a Patriots final-minute win and a 27-21 Bills win. Just don鈥檛 show them much video of this year鈥檚 Patriots because, whew, they just aren鈥檛 very good. They鈥檙e 3-11, can鈥檛 move the football (30th in yards), stink on third down (29th) and can鈥檛 score (31st). Quarterback Drake Maye will be good once he gets some people around him. This is a get-right game for the Bills鈥 defense. Bills, 31-14.
Mark Gaughan
Poor drafting over the past five years has put the New England franchise in a big hole. It鈥檚 going to take more than one offseason to dig out of it, even though the Patriots have a huge amount of money to spend in the coming offseason. They have holes at expensive positions 鈥 both tackle spots, edge rushers, defensive tackles and wide receivers. On the upside, Drake Maye might be the answer at quarterback. Given the relative lack of depth on offensive lines leaguewide, a team needs a QB who can be a big-time playmaker on the move and outside the structure of the offense. Maye is probably going to be on the run a lot on Sunday. The Bills need to assert the big edge they have on the defensive line against the Pats鈥 patchwork offensive line. Bills, 30-16.
