The ground has been laid for a Bills upset win over the Patriots Sunday. Rex Ryan has his bravado back, and Buffalo is coming off a 13-point victory over the Colts. The Bills' defense held Andrew Luck in check in Week 1, and possesses the ingredients to do the same to Tom Brady.
NFL picks and predictions, Patriots vs. Bills 2015: Buffalo is formidable foe for defending champs
Our experts say the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots will have their hands full Sunday with the brash Bills.
Ryan has proven to be a worthy foe for Bill Belichick and the Patriots over the years -- his Jets won three of their first five meetings against the Patriots, including a Divisional round win at Gillette Stadium in 2011. The tenacious Jets defense sacked Brady five times in that game, and forced him to throw an interception on the first drive of the contest as well.
Ryan’s Jets went 1-7 against the Pats after that playoff win, but still managed to give Brady fits. The final four games the Patriots and Jets played with Ryan on the sidelines were all decided by three points or fewer, and Brady only completed 53.5 percent of his passes in those contests.
The Bills will probably unveil an aggressive game plan against Brady, especially considering the inexperience of the Patriots' offensive line. Marcell Dareus, Mario Williams, Jerry Hughes and the rest of the Bills' stout defensive line may be given free rein to go after Brady, which could make for a long afternoon for TB12.
Brady was phenomenal in the Patriots' opening night win over the Steelers, completing 25 of 32 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns. Unsurprisingly, the Steelers' strategy of not covering Rob Gronkowski in the red zone failed, as he caught three touchdown passes.
One way to quell the Patriots' potent offensive attack is to get to Brady and clog the middle of the field. If the Bills don't give Julian Edelman a lot of room to operate, Brady may be stuck holding the ball for longer than he would like.
Though New England’s offense was outstanding last week, its depleted secondary struggled, surrendering 351 passing yards to Ben Roethlisberger. And that could be the X-factor in Sunday’s game.
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor had a strong showing against Indianapolis, going 14 of 19 for 195 yards and a touchdown pass. If he can replicate that Sunday, it would go a long way towards giving the Bills control of the game. Buffalo has to like the matchups it has on the outside -- the Patriots don't appear to have cornerbacks who can hang with Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods or Percy Harvin in man-to-man coverage.
Brady owns the Bills, as he’s thrown 58 touchdown passes and won a whopping 23 games against them in his career. But it’s a new-look Buffalo team this year with a lot more braggadocio than the Patriots are used to.
The experts are conflicted on how this matchup will go. At ESPN, the Bills are the choice by the slimmest of margins, 7-6, while CBS Sports’ crew is evenly divided at 4-4.
Here at SB Nation, our panel is also split, with the Bills a slight 5-3 favorite. No matter the outcome, it should be a raucous scene in Buffalo Sunday.
| Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | Matt Ufford | PFT Commenter | OddsShark Computer | |
| NE @ BUF | BUF | BUF | BUF | NE | BUF | NE | NE | BUF |
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