Injuries. Scandal. Palace intrigue. Doubts. A media-hyped, early season divisional game. On the road.
We've been here before, haven't we?
In case you hadn't noticed, things haven't exactly gone to plan in Foxborough in 2019. Yes, the Patriots are 3-0-0 and the bottom line does matter but New England has rolled through the first three weeks of the season by taking down three teams with a cumulative 0-9-0 record. The defense looks historically good, but then, they should, given the competition. Offense has been a different story. The offensive line has been decimated by injuries, the Pats cannot run the football, the Antonio Brown experiment blew up the lab and bill for the damages is going to be expensive, the beating heart of the passing game, Julian Edelman, is hurt and doubtful for Sunday.
The Buffalo Bills also have some question marks attached to their gaudy 3-0-0 record but when your franchise has struggled to win at all, nobody cares how you got the W. The Bills are not afraid of the Patriots or anybody else. They believe in themselves and that makes them dangerous.
Timely reminder: Nobody wins a Super Bowl in September.
Yes, that's pre-outcome rationalization right there. After all, I've spent the week listening to Bill Belichick extol the many virtues of the Buffalo Bills. I've become convinced the road to the Super Bowl runs through New Era Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Pats seemed to add another name to the injury report every day. They still don't have a tight end (sorry Matt LaCosse, Ryan Izzo but we're all waiting for Ben Watson to return from his PED suspension) and they've lost All Planet Fullback James Develin to IR. They could be starting their third left tackle this Sunday. (The Bills front seven will feast on a patchwork Pats O-Line and put a hurt on Tom Brady.) Jules may not be able to go. Josh Gordon has a mangled left hand. Stephen Gostkowski hasn't gone a game without missing a kick.
Then there's the obvious excitement among national pigskin pundits and bobbleheads anticipating a Patriots loss. They were cheated out of a Chief-Rams shootout in SB53 and they do not want to be denied again this year. It's all about Patrick Mahomes, it's about the sentimentalists who want to see Andy Reid win a Lombardi Trophy, it's all about offense, 40-burgers, chicks digging the long ball.
The Patriots are literally old and figuratively old school. Defense winning championships? New England is like a pigskin dad joke. Why did the punter cross the road? So Matthew Slater could down the ball at the 1-yard line! While everyone else in the NFL is trying to outscore their opponents, Belichick is playing "if you don't let them score you can't lose" football. Just in case NFL fans west of the Connecticut River needed another reason to hate the Patriots.
The only team that's been able to score on the Patriots has been, well, the Patriots, who gave up a pick-6 and a muffed punt for 14 of the 17 points scored by their opponents. They've scored 106 points in three games in grindingly efficient yet somehow unremarkable fashion. When the expectation is greatness, greatness becomes boring and in 2019 there is no greater sin, #NotTrending.
Another boring win this Sunday would be great. Another 20-point lead in the first half would be pigskin awesome. A coming out party for the rebuild offensive line and 100+ yards rushing from Sony Michel would exceed my wildest dreams. Given the reality of the injuries, however, it's hard to have confidence in any of the above.
Still…
Tom Brady.
Let's Gooooooooooooooo!
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