Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots: Three Keys to the Game

The Buffalo Bills’ Week 16 tilt against the New England Patriots kicks off at 1 p.m. in Foxborough.

The Buffalo Bills are playing meaningful football late in December.

It’s rather refreshing.

While Sunday’s matchup against the New England Patriots isn’t a must win – the game actually has less importance than the Week 17 matchup against the Miami Dolphins – a victory would go a long way as far as confidence goes heading into the regular-season finale.

Buffalo’s going to need a much stronger showing than what they displayed against the Patriots in the first meeting – a 23-3 loss – if they want to pull off the massive upset on the road.

However, Buffalo has some extra incentive this time.

As Tre’Davious White put it, the best way to get revenge on Rob Gronkowski would be to secure the W.

You know the drill, each week during the regular season this column will provide the three ways the Bills can secure a victory. So, without further ado, here are the Three Keys to the Game for the matchup against the Patriots, which kicks off 1 p.m. Sunday at Gillette Stadium on CBS.

Limit Rob Gronkowski

There’s no way to stop Rob Gronkowski completely.

Buffalo Bills

But the Bills have to do a better job than they did in Week 14 and what the Pittsburgh Steelers did late last weekend, allowing Gronkowski to run free down the field almost constantly and set up a Dion Lewis game-winning score.

The difference between Week 14 and now? Matt Milano is in the starting lineup.

Milano has had a stellar rookie campaign and is much better defending the pass than Ramon Humber, who he replaced.

It’s going to take more than just Milano to stop Gronkowski. It’s going to be a team effort.

Expect to see a mix of Milano, Micah Hyde, Tre’Davious White and even Jordan Poyer on the talented tight end. Double coverage will be likely, too.

If E.J. Gaines can handle Brandin Cooks, which he is more than capable of doing, it will allow Buffalo to frequently double-team Gronkowski.

And most importantly, no big plays.

Score First

Buffalo struggles to come from behind in general, but it’s a whole different ball game against the Patriots.

Facing Tom Brady and Co., Buffalo needs to be firing on all cylinders.

One way would be with LeSean McCoy.

The veteran running back hasn’t lost a step and can break one off at a moment’s notice.

Buffalo has done a good job starting off strong as of late – including against the Patriots. They just need to punch it in.

Not to mention, the more the Bills run the ball the more Brady and the New England offense will be kept off the field.

"“I think it was we had done it so well on tape for two years, and then we got out there the first part of the season, and I had expected some growing pains going into the zone scheme, but we just weren’t hitting on all cylinders the first few games,” Bills guard Richie Incognito said on Wednesday’s John Murphy Show. “The collective feeling on offense was, ‘Hey, we’ve been there, we’ve done this, it’s the same people, let’s go.’ It was right around the bye week when the coaches made the change and that’s when players have to take ownership of it.”"

The Bills are 4-1 when they score first this season.

Touchdowns Not Field Goals

Sound familiar?

This was a key in the Week 14 matchup between these two teams.

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While the Bills didn’t get many chances to score in the first meeting, they did get near the red zone on three occassions and only came away with a field goal.

Buffalo’s first trip resulted in an interception on a first-and-goal from the New England 6.

Steven Hauschka drilled a 49-yard field goal from the New England 30 with 3:05 remaining in the first half.

The Bills’ last trip was a turnover on downs in garbage time on a fourth-and-1. Nathan Peterman’s pass was incomplete to Zay Jones in the end zone.

Not going to cut it.

New England’s going to put up points. Buffalo has to as well in order to keep pace.

The Patriots defense isn’t invincible, but the Bills will need some big plays and limited mistakes in order to move down the field enough to give themselves a chance to win.

Prediction: Patriots 31-24

New England has just too much offensive firepower for Buffalo to overcome.

The Bills will have to play nearly perfect – and then some – to give themselves a chance to win.

Does Rob Gronkowski’s late hit on Tre’Davious White play a role in this game? What about Buffalo’s playoff hopes?

Next: Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills: Risers and Fallers

We will see.