Changing of the Guard?

Last week was Jim Schwartz week as the Bills went into Detroit and beat the defensive coordinator's former team.  Schwartz got carried off the field by some of the players and it was a great way to cap off the Ralph Wilson era.  Now as we start a new era in Buffalo,  the Bills look to beat a very familiar foe in the New England Patriots.  It's a game Bills fans and players have been waiting for all off-season, none more than former Patriot Brandon Spikes.  Spikes, now with the Bills, sent out some very bold tweets about playing against his former team back in August: "@BrandonSpikes51- It's icing on my cake to hand the #Patriots two big L's this year #justwatch."  Spikes also referred to the New England fans as "massholes" in a later tweet.  Spikes will have a great chance to get revenge on his former team today at Ralph Wilson Stadium as first place in on the line in the AFC East.  

The New England Patriots come in at 3-2 after knocking off the previously undefeated Bengals at home.  In the two meetings last year, New England defeated Buffalo and the last time Buffalo won came back in 2011.  That win was the only time the Bills beat the Pats in the last decade.....  However, if there was ever a time for the Bills to beat the team that has been their kryptonite, it is now.  Brady and the offense have certainly had their struggles against teams like Oakland, Kansas City, and Miami; All of whom aren't necessarily the creams of the crop in the AFC.  Buffalo also leads the league in sacks so going against a young, and inexperienced offensive line could lead to Brady seeing the turf a lot this afternoon.  The Patriots do have some strong receivers in Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, both of whom have given the Bills fits in the past.  Gronkowski's size in particular, could potentially pose as a big threat to the Bills secondary.  New England brings in an opportunistic defense that lives off turnovers.  Considering the Bills have thrown a pick six in consecutive games, that looks pretty scary.  The Bills need the Kyle Orton we saw in the second half last week.  He was poised, under control and led Buffalo back to win from down 14 on the road.  If they can play turnover free, and keep a steady balance of run-pass, I expect the Bills to have a great chance in today's ball game.  In this divisional matchup, there are many keys to dissect but here are the biggest things to look out for.  

1. Be Creative: Enough of our plain, vanilla offense.  Either take a shot deep early in the game, or maybe run a sweep with Watkins just to find easy ways to get our playmakers out in space.  Being predictable against New England usually leads to problems.

2.  Gronkowski Lights up Buffalo: Gronkowski has had some huge games in the past against his hometown team.  Really look for New England to target him a lot, especially in the red zone.  

3. Woods Ending His Slump: New England loves to take away a team's #1 receiver and it helps that they have Darrelle Revis to cover Sammy Watkins today.  With that being said, expect Robert Woods to get a lot of targets and hopefully he will get out of his slump.  

My Prediction: This is going to be a highly competitive, emotional game.  Pegula being at the game today will energize the crowd and put a lot of pressure on New England to get out to an early lead.  I think the combination of being at home, and having the stronger defense will help Buffalo pull out a HUGE home win! 

Buffalo 24    New England 20