Buffalo Bills: 4 New England Patriots to gameplan for in Week 16
Cam Newton/Jarrett Stidham
The New England Patriots and Bill Belichick have some uncertainty about who will be starting at quarterback this week and they are using it to their advantage. Since the Patriots are out of playoff contention, the thought is they could give Jarrett Stidham an extended look to give them more to evaluate going into the offseason and next year.
When asked about who is going to start, Belichick did not want to answer because it creates extra work for the Buffalo Bills’ coaching staff. The reason is that Newton and Stidham are two very different quarterbacks and have completely different styles.
Cam Newton is a mobile quarterback and when he is on the field, they rely more on the run game and run-pass offense (RPO). The Patriots this season are third in rushing attempts with 449 and Newton has 122 of them or about 28% of the team’s total rushing attempts.
As for Stidham, he is more of the typical NFL quarterback as in he will try to beat teams in the pocket with his arm. This means the Patriots may run more of a traditional offense and likely using play action to help open up the passing game for the young quarterback.
Next. Keys to victory in Week 16 for the Buffalo Bills. dark
The Buffalo Bills defense has already proven that they can shut down Cam Newton but must not come up with a gameplan if Stidham ends up being the starting QB this week.