The New England Patriots travel to face the Buffalo Bills today at 1 p.m. ET at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. Buffalo is back at home looking to protect its unbeaten start, while New England is trying to avoid falling to 1-3.
Both the teams are in opposite directions, with the Bills at 3-0, have already beaten Houston, Detroit and the Chargers. They survived a sloppy Week 3 outing against Los Angeles despite committing five turnovers. The Patriots, meanwhile, are 1-2 after being blown out 35-6 by Jacksonville. Their offense has managed only 12 points per game, 31st in the NFL.
Josh Allen vs. Drake Maye is the key watchful thing. Allen has thrown for 786 yards and five touchdowns while adding six rushing scores through three games. Maye has 585 passing yards, one touchdown and six interceptions.
Here we will now dive into what the national experts predict about the game.
National Predictions
NFL.com: Buffalo 27, Patriots 16
ESPN: Bills 27, Patriots 17
USA Today: Bills 31, Patriots 17
CBS Sports: Bills 30, Patriots 17
What Experts are saying?
“What is the best representation of New England’s well-documented offensive struggles? I’m partial to one simple statistic that has made the rounds this week: In 30 offensive drives this season, the Patriots have scored 29 points. For comparison’s sake, the Bills have logged 32 offensive drives … and scored 101 points. Another painful Pats stat that’s burning up the interwebs: Going back to January’s playoffs, Drake Maye has turned the ball over 15 times in his past seven games. What on earth has happened to last season’s MVP runner-up? The 24-year-old’s putrid play has spawned theories far and wide, some more conspiratorial than others. Is Cover 6 his kryptonite? Is the shoulder still barking from last season’s injury? Is there a rift between Maye and Mike Vrabel? I won’t pretend to have any of those answers, but one thing is pretty easy to surmise: The quarterback misses A.J. Brown. Unfortunately, the blockbuster trade acquisition’s high ankle sprain is expected to keep him out until late October. And in the here and now, New England’s other notable offseason addition out wide, Romeo Doubs, has gotten off to a rough start in Foxborough. If Maye and Co. are indeed suffering the infamous Super Bowl hangover, it’s hard to believe the best remedy is a trip to Buffalo for a game against their undefeated division rivals,” Gennaro Filice, nfl.com
“All three Patriots games have gone under the total with the largest under margin of any NFL team. Maye’s turnovers and struggles on third down keep killing drives. New England also gives up the fewest yards per drive, and its aggressive blitzing could test Allen’s mobility after his knee injury. I expect Buffalo to lean on Cook, keeping this game low-scoring,” Pamela Maldonado, ESPN
“The Patriots are on the road for the second straight week and they are coming off a bad showing at Jacksonville. Drake Maye is struggling. That will continue here. Josh Allen gets back on track after a so-so game last week. Bills win it,” Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
“This AFC East game is pivotal for the Patriots, who already find themselves chasing the undefeated Bills. New England’s defense will be chasing Josh Allen throughout this game,” Jeremy Cluff, USA Today.
