Buffalo Bills: Keys to victory in Week 16 against New England Patriots

Force Pats to Pass

If the Buffalo Bills defense wants to find success in Week 16, it is in their best interest to force the Patriots into obvious passing situations. In order to do this, it will be important for the Bills to be successful on 1st and 2nd down. By forcing the Patriots into 3rd and long situations, the Bills can lean on what their defense does best which is defend against the pass, and it gets even easier when they know what to expect.

The Patriots rank 31st in passing attempts and third in running attempts, so it’s obvious which type of play they prefer to run. Furthermore, the Patriots have been considerably more effective on the ground than through the air even on the disparity of attempts. They rank 30th in total passing yards averaging about 185 passing yards per game. Additionally, with 14 interceptions to 8 passing touchdowns, it’s clear that this is the area of the Patriots’ offense that the Bills defense can take advantage of.

The main concern of the Patriots in the passing game would be Newton’s scrambling ability, especially on 3rd downs. In 3rd and long situations, it would be smart for the Bills to drop back at least 6 into coverage, but if there isn’t an extra guy committed to stopping Newton from scrambling out of the pocket, he is more than capable of picking up first downs on his own.