Today's Wednesday, and the time is drawing near for the always exciting matchup between two division rivals, the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots. With Buffalo's upgraded offense and dominating defense putting on a clinic vs. the Colts, the expectations and excitement is as high as it's been in years going into this week 2 game vs the Patriots. Going into this week, here are five things to watch for from the Buffalo Bills.
The Defense: They had a very dominant performance against the Colts, forcing them to commit 3 turnovers and holding their rushing game to a troublesome 64 yards. Can they repeat a similar performance vs the high powered Patriots offense lead by Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski?
Ronald Darby: Following an impressive week 1 performance, Darby will look to build upon his success. Last week, he broke up several passes and made an excellent pick off of an Andrew Luck deep ball. This week, he may have to face the Patriots top WR, Julian Edelman, if Gilmore gets his way in his request to cover Gronkowski. Can Darby be the same corner we saw last week, or will the rookie succumb to Brady's passing game?
Rob Gronkowski: He's by far the best receiving threat the Patriots have, and has the potential at having another big game, unless he can't get the ball. Whether or not the Bills can successfully cover and shut down Gronk will ultimately, in my opinion, decide who wins this football game. Gilmore stated that he wanted to cover Gronkowski himself, but that may not be in Rex's game plan. The Bills need to pressure Brady substantially and place 1 or 2 players to be able to cut off a big game from Gronkowski.
Tyrod Taylor: Taylor is also a new Bill who is coming off a productive week, much like Darby. Taylor dropped a beautiful dime into Harvin's arms against Indy, showing his accuracy, and compiled 195 yards through the air, along with 41 yards on 9 rushes. He showed poise in the pocket and was on time with many of his throws. Hopefully, he can build upon that performance and be even better in week 2. With the Patriots depleted secondary, expect the Bills receivers to get open more often.
Marcell Dareus: Dareus' one week suspension has concluded, and he's fired up going into this week 2 game vs. a huge rival. Following his $100 million contract with $60 million guaranteed, expect this pass rush to be even better than last week, and expect the Patriot's run game to be shut down early and often.
With the win on Sunday, the Bills would be up 2-0 over the Patriots 1-1 record. That would be huge for Buffalo, who needs some big wins this year to finally end the 15 year playoff drought. Thanks for reading, and as always, let's go Buffalo!
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