There are four weeks left in the NFL’s regular season and I feel like every year we’re saying this, but I don’t think the league’s ever been this contested.
There’s been so many games where you cannot blink or take anything for granted. Some play-off spots won’t be decided until week 18, so for so many teams, that final game will be incredibly meaningful.
The AFC East title could go down to the wire, but the Buffalo Bills will need to stop the New England Patriots’ 10-game win streak when the divisional rivals meet at Foxborough this Sunday.
The Bills improved their record to 9-4 with a 39-34 win over the Bengals last Sunday, and it was just Josh Allen doing Josh Allen things again, especially in that fourth quarter. He just puts on his cape and make things happen. That’s what makes the Bills so dangerous. He was last season’s Most Valuable Player and he’s a guy who can change the game and rally the troops around him.
Buffalo had a rough spell but have won their past two. At this time of year, you’ve been able to have a true self-scout, so things are coming together for them, and last Sunday’s win was huge. The Bills were on the edge of the AFC play-off rankings and now they’ve solidified themselves. If they win at the Patriots, who are 11-2, the Bills will be just one win back with three games left.
New England’s schedule looks easier than Buffalo’s though. The Patriots finish with Baltimore, the Jets and the Dolphins. The Bills go against the Browns, the Eagles and the Jets.
There’s a high probability Buffalo won’t win the AFC East for the first time in six years, and few expected New England to win the division after back-to-back four-win seasons.
In the past, there was an expectation with the Patriots because they had greatness. They had Tom Brady and had been winning for so long. Now there’s straight excitement about current quarterback Drake Maye and what this team can do. They could clinch the AFC East on Sunday, which is huge for them.
Sometimes it’s better when you’re that team with no expectations, but the Patriots have Mike Vrabel as head coach. He won three Super Bowls with them as a player and he’s brought in the right people. Josh McDaniels won six Super Bowls on the Patriots’ coaching staff but wasn’t successful as head coach of the Raiders. Vrabel pairing him as offensive coordinator with Maye has been so good though. McDaniels understands what it takes to win in the AFC East, to win in the cold and how to attack those teams.
New England had one of the easiest schedules this season, but you still have to win those games. Vrabel’s been using the word ‘champions’ and I think all the guys are starting to believe in that championship mentality. I love how he also says ‘no naps’, like, you can’t sleep on anybody and you’ve got to keep doing the right things. I think he’s a great leader who’s learned how to inspire from being in this situation as a player.
The Patriots were the ones that broke the Bills’ undefeated start in week five and when you do that on the road, your team’s going to walk away and think ‘alright, we actually might have something here’. Then all these wins they’ve had is building more and more confidence.
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