The Buffalo Bills are entering Week 13 with an 8-3 record but still remain in second place in the AFC. They are beginning a pivotal three-game stretch that will likely determine whether or not the Bills are able to win their third straight division title as the next three games are against AFC East rivals.
The first game is against the New England Patriots, who are coming off a 33-26 loss on Thanksgiving night to the Minnesota Vikings. However, prior to that, they did have a three-game win streak and that was able to get them back into the playoff picture.
When looking ahead to this game, these are four of the top storylines for the Thursday night matchup.
Buffalo Bills looking for their first divisional win in 2022
For the past two years, the Buffalo Bills have been excellent against the other AFC East teams as they had a combined 11-1 record. This year though the Bills are 0-2 after road losses to the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.
The head-to-head record is a key tiebreaker within the division, as evidenced by the fact that the Bills have the same record as the Dolphins but are currently sitting in second. However, the division record is also an important tiebreaker when it comes to playoff seeding.
The remaining four division games are almost must-win for the Buffalo Bills and that first game will be on Thursday night.
Buffalo Bills pass rush without Von Miller
The bad news for the Buffalo Bills is that they are entering this important game without one of their top defensive players, Von Miller. The former All-Pro suffered a knee injury against the Detroit Lions and it remains to be seen how long he will be out. However he is guaranteed to miss at least one game as he has already been ruled out for this game against the New England Patriots.
The question now for the Buffalo Bills is what the pass rush might look like without Von Miller. The good news is that it appears they could be getting one key player back this week as Greg Rousseau was able to practice on Sunday. This is his first practice since suffering an ankle injury against the New York Jets in Week 10.
Rousseau’s return would be a tremendous lift for this defense as he was having a great start to the year with five sacks already.
While Mac Jones hasn’t taken that big step forward in his second season, he certainly has the talent to beat defenses. The Bills will want to get pressure on him and Rousseau can help try to pick up some of the production lost without Von Miller.
What other starters might be able to play this week?
While the Bills know they are going to be without Von Miller, there are a number of other starters with questions heading into Thursday’s game against the New England Patriots.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bills have been without Tremaine Edmunds for the past two games due to a groin injury. The good news is that Edmunds did practice on Sunday according to WGR550’s Sal Capaccio and if he is able to return it will be a big boost for the defense.
On the offensive side of the ball, the focus will be on the offensive line as the Bills were without center Mitch Morse for the game against the Detroit Lions. However, the Bills then lost left tackle Dion Dawkins during the game against the Lions and had David Quessenberry start in his place in the second half.
Head coach Sean McDermott did say that Mitch Morse would practice in some capacity according to Matt Parrino. However, left Dion Dawkins was not able to practice according to Joe Buscaglia and the status on all three players will be worth watching leading up to Thursday.
Josh Allen’s dominance at Gillette Stadium
Prior to the bye week, Josh Allen was playing some of the best football of his career but since the off week, Josh Allen has not played at the same level. He has seven interceptions over the past four games, with a number of those interceptions occurring in the red zone.
A trip to Gillette Stadium though could be exactly what the Buffalo Bills quarterback needs as he has had some excellent games recently against the Patriots when on the road. The stat lines for the past three trips are:
- 2021 – 30 for 47, 314 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 12 rush attempts, 64 rushing yards
- 2020 – 27 for 36, 320 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, 4 rushing attempts, 35 rushing yards
- 2019 – 13/26 208 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 7 rushing attempts, 28 rushing yards
In addition to Josh Allen having great games, the Buffalo Bills have won each of their last three trips to Gillette Stadium. This is going to be a big game for the Bills and will need Josh Allen to return to that MVP level that he was playing at before the bye.
4 free agent options for the Buffalo Bills after Von Miller’s knee injury
If Von Miller is forced to miss extended time, these are four free agents the Buffalo Bills could consider signing to help throughout the rest of the year.