The Buffalo Bills switched from EJ Manuel to Kyle Orton at quarterback. One week later, they topped the Detroit Lions on the road and sit at 3-2. Needless to say, at least for the moment, there is optimism in Buffalo that a Bills team with a competent quarterback under center might be able to make some noise in the AFC East.
We’ll all get to see just how much noise come Week 6, when the Bills welcome Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to town. Such a huge divisional matchup unsurprisingly will be the most expensive game in Buffalo this season. On the secondary market, Bills vs Patriots tickets have an average price of $229.80 with an $87 get-in price. The average is 53% above the season average for Bills tickets at Ralph Wilson Stadium this year. Excitement is one thing, beating the Pats to take over first place in the AFC East is another. While that has usually been a pipe dream in year’s past, it’s here for the taking in Week 6. The question is, how do the Bills pull it off?
A good start is probably picking up where they left off a week ago – at least on defense. Aside from blowing out the Bengals in Week 5, Brady and co. haven’t been overly impressive on offense, which is fantastic news for a Bills defense that enters the week ranked 8th overall in the league.
More importantly, Buffalo is second best on the year against the run. The point? New England hasn’t been scaring many teams through the air. In fact, last week was the first time Rob Gronkowski registered over four catches or 60+ receiving yards. Moreover, had it not been for Stevan Ridley getting something going (100+ yards last week), it’s possible New England’s lethargic passing attack would have yet again struggled in week five.
Naturally, if Buffalo’s elite run defense shows up the way they have been, Ridley and the Pats’ ground game shouldn’t play a huge factor. Instead, the pressure will be back on Brady to work his magic – magic that has seemingly been running out.
On the other side, not much is expected of Kyle Orton. Thanks to New England still having the league’s top-ranked pass defense, he simply needs to pick his spots and not blow the game. It’s the ground game that needs to show up for the Bills. Thanks to having a solid duo in Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, that’s not a bad thing to bank on against New England’s 17th ranked run defense.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
