Stephen A. Smith delivers painful Bills warning before Patriots rematch

Week 15 marks a crucial rematch between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, and Bills fans are hoping this one goes better than the Week 5 matchup did. The Patriots came into Orchard Park and upset the favored Bills, and have proven in the two months since that matchup that they're not to be taken lightly.

If the season ended today, the Patriots would win their first AFC East title since the 2019 season, and the Bills would have to enter the playoffs as a wild card team. No one in Buffalo wants to see that. To make matters worse, former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs is now calling New England home and had his best game of the season against his former team.

During that Week 5 loss, Diggs racked up 10 catches for 146 yards and averaged 14.6 yards per catch. It was a tough pill for the Bills to swallow, but they'll get another crack at their former star wideout this Sunday in Foxborough. They'll also have a chance to narrow the gap in the race for the AFC East title, as a win would put them just one game behind the division-leading Patriots.

Stephen A. Smith, however, thinks that Diggs' presence will help the Patriots finish off a season-sweep of the Bills in Week 15, putting them one step closer to clinching the division title. Smith was talking about how the Bills are favored in this game on First Take, and he was going to say they deserved to be, but then remembered something pivotal.

"Twelve targets. Ten receptions. One hundred and forty-six yards receiving. Stefon Diggs, a former Buffalo Bill, now in New England," Smith said. "And so I'm thinking on the lines of 'Yeah them brothers thought I was finished... Y’all didn’t think I was gonna be here, did y’all?... We got a division crown on the line that we can secure with this victory? Okay, on our home turf against my former team?' I'm lookin' at it like that, y'all, and I'm sayin', nah, I can't put the Buffalo Bills as the favorites in this one."

Stephen A. Smith thinks Stefon Diggs will be the difference in Bills/Patriots rematch

Bills fans will probably roll their eyes at this speech from Smith because that's what one typically does whenever he's speaking. But it's also annoying because Bills fans don't want to see Diggs succeeding, especially against Buffalo's defense.

The Bills moved on from Diggs because he was causing too much drama, and that decision paid off last year. Josh Allen went on to have his best year as a pro, likely because he didn't have to keep Diggs happy all the time by targeting him on every throw. It resulted in Allen winning his first MVP award.

Diggs joined the Patriots this offseason, and we all knew these matchups would be treated as revenge games for him. It'll be rough enough if the Bills lose out on the division title for the first time in five years, but it'll be even worse if Stefon Diggs plays a big role in why that happens.