Game week thread - Bills at Patriots*

[Mark Vader]

18 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

It jumps off the screen... so obvious how far superior he is to Bernard.

 

 

Or any of our linebackers. I think that Bernard is being misused a lot, why do they put him in coverage so much.

 

There was a moment in last weeks game where Shaq Thompson was covering Tee Higgins! Why?

[transplantbillsfan]

1 hour ago, Instincts said:

Dink and dunk? Maye is perhaps the best deep ball thrower in football THIS season. He goes over your head. What you should be saying is your secondary needs to defend the deep balls. And yes he is young but this is year two not year one. Plenty of second year quarterbacks blossomed that year. Remember many have sophomore slumps (Jayden Daniels, Stroud, etc). Drake Maye did not.. folks forget this IS his second season. 

"Drake Maye has been exceptionally effective against the blitz in the 2025 season, leading the NFL in QBR in these situations, showing quick decision-making, accurate throws in tight windows, and excellent pocket navigation, including big plays and touchdowns, demonstrating significant growth in handling pressure despite some early-season sack issues. He excels by taking what defenses give him, spreading the ball, and using his legs when needed, making him a tough quarterback to pressure effectively. 

Key Aspects of Maye's Blitz Performance:
• High Efficiency: He ranks among the best in the league (often 1st) in Passer Rating and QBR when facing pressure, according to NextGen Stats and ESPN.
• Quick Release: Maye often gets the ball out quickly (around 2.57 seconds average) against the blitz, preventing sacks and keeping defenders at bay.
• Accurate & Decisive: He fires quick, accurate passes, hitting receivers in tight windows and delivering deep balls, like his touchdown to Kyle Williams against the Giants.
• Pocket Management: Maye effectively navigates pressure, steps up, scrambles when necessary, and protects the ball, showing improved pocket awareness.
• Play-Making Ability: He turns blitzes into big plays, including touchdowns, and distributes the ball effectively to avoid defenses keying on one receiver."

 

I take it you're our resident temporary Pats fan?

 

Maye has been super good this year.  I will say that I was at the Patriots SNF football game in Buffalo and had awesome seats right on the 45 yard line 14 rows up.  For me that game was a tale of 2 halves.

 

I thought Maye looked pretty lost in the 1st half.  Looking at the splits, he pretty much was as he was 8-15 for 82 yards, was sacked twice and scrambled 3 times for 12 yards.  

 

He turned it on in the 2nd half, but I also think our CBs were pretty terrible in that game covering Diggs especially.  Our secondary right now is a totally different secondary than it was in week 5.  We also replaced Bernard with Shaq Thompson and should (hopefully) have Milano for the full game unlike in week 5 when he got hurt and didn't play most of the game.

 

I really do think the Bills are the better team and no matter how Maye has been playing this year, Allen is clearly still the better QB.

 

Playing on the road against a team with an extra week of rest makes a little more of a coin flip, but on a neutral field with equal rest I think this Buffalo team wins against this New England team 8 times out of 10.

[Playoffs?]

Hahahaha - these Pats fans are pathetic. Where have they been the past 5 years???  And now they’re putting together a cute season and start beating their chests on the Bills message board. Gimme a break. 

5 minutes ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

Maye hasn’t done anything close to what Josh did last Sunday. He seems like a good QB. He is playing within the system McDaniels has installed. 

Exactly. 
 

Josh IS the system. 
 

I won’t hold my breath for Maye to break multiple NFL records…

[fergie's ire]

5 hours ago, BeastMaster said:

History shows that for whatever reason the Dolphins give the Patriots trouble. This dates back to even the Brady era

 

Wouldn't surprise me at all if they lost to them

Yes.  They will play them in the season finale.  Anyone remember what happened in Brady's last year in the season finale against a really bad Fitzpatrick led Dolphins team?

[Success]

The Maye hype is absolutely ridiculous.

 

Pats fans should be excited about him. He has shown a lot so far.

 

Also so far, I don't believe he has led a singe 4th quarter comeback.  We have no idea what kind of playoff performer he'll be.  His success so far has been mainly against bad teams, and mainly w/ the long ball - one of the least sustainable models for great QB play.

 

I've seen MANY Pats fans say at this point that he has already surpassed Josh Allen.  That's a level of delusion that I can't really comprehend.

 

[PatsFanNH]

9 hours ago, Buffalo4Life01 said:

Of course they said that.  That was the current narrative in the NFL at the time and the bills had won the division 5 years in a row.  That said, again, it was obvious to anyone who closely watched the games that Buffalo was a very flawed team.  Not sure the point you are trying to make but I'll leave you with this.  You can throw the records out the window for Sunday.  Both teams are evenly matched and this is one game I wouldn't bet on regardless of the odds.

Go Bills!!

I never bet on my team.. it’s nail biting enough without money involved.. but Agreed I think the game could go either way.. 

[L Ron Burgundy]

2 hours ago, stevewin said:

I think special teams is also going to be important.  In years past they always seemed to benefit from some huge return or miraculous takeaway etc on STs that would turn games- assume that is being drilled again

 

I'll be happy if we can just play adequate on STs and not give up any huge plays or turnovers

Yeah that's very true.  They have a good return game.

[Mark Vader]

4 hours ago, Steptide said:

If the Patriots win Sunday, their fans are gonna be insufferable 

How about the media? God, I really want the Bills to win on Sunday!

[mbs]

18 minutes ago, Instincts said:

if Maye's projectory continues to rise

After four hours call a doctor.

[Boatdrinks]

6 minutes ago, L Ron Burgundy said:

Yeah that's very true.  They have a good return game.

I’d actually send every kick through the end zone and take the 35. Our coverage has been awful and teams usually make the 30 or greater. It would at least remove the potential for greater damage. 

[RunTheBall]

I think we match up quite well with NE. Our strengths on O are running the ball and throwing to TEs and RBs. That’s where the Pats* are weak. Barmore is their only good DT and he hasn’t been exactly dominating this year. We can exploit their LBs and safeties while throwing the occasional WR pass against their great CBs. Our weakness is WRs and that’s their strength so it’s not like they are negating our strength on O.

 

On defense, we have been much better against the run since Shaq came in. I think we rush 3 with a Mirror spy like we did against Mayfield and Mahomes now that we know Drake won’t hesitate to leave the pocket. Smart blitzing is going to be imperative to get any pressure unless Bosa is back, and even then he’s not 100%

 

If we don’t turn the ball over more than once, it’s a W. I can definitely see the Pats* falling back to the pack and losing a couple games. I don’t think the division is out of reach yet. It’s not likely, but I can see it happening. Winning 10 games in a row is a tremendous accomplishment but they’ve been playing above themselves because they have great coaching. At some point that’s going to bite them, idk if it will be enough to snag the division. Probably not.

 

Except for PatsFanNH, you bandwagon Pats* fan fks should GTFO. You’ve been silent for 5 years, just like the entire bandwagon fan base in NE. I live in NE, there hasn’t been a PEEP about the Pats* for years. Now all of a sudden you are all crawling out of the woodwork like you’ve stuck with your team. Hilarious. You were literally the Harford Pats* before Brady came, that’s how little fan support your team has when they aren’t winning. Jokes.

 

[Psautcsk]

4 hours ago, Steptide said:

If the Patriots win Sunday, their fans are gonna be insufferable 

They have been insufferable since they beat the Bills earlier this year. Being a Bills fan in New England and getting a first hand look at it is kind of humorous. Some of them actually brag about beating the Bills twice in a row.

[VW82]

Bernard is questionable but we're way better with Shaq Thompson at mike. McD must see this. 

[QLBillsFan]

25 minutes ago, Success said:

The Maye hype is absolutely ridiculous.

 

Pats fans should be excited about him. He has shown a lot so far.

 

Also so far, I don't believe he has led a singe 4th quarter comeback.  We have no idea what kind of playoff performer he'll be.  His success so far has been mainly against bad teams, and mainly w/ the long ball - one of the least sustainable models for great QB play.

 

I've seen MANY Pats fans say at this point that he has already surpassed Josh Allen.  That's a level of delusion that I can't really comprehend.

 

He’s had a great year. Josh has won many big games and played exceptionally well in the playoffs win or lose. His stats in the playoffs are unreal. Maye has the opportunity to be a great qb. Once he wins a few playoff games for a few years we can start a conversation where he fits in the echelon on current star QBs. He likely to have more consistency than Stroud or Daniels but we shall see. He’s a QB that Pats fans should be very excited about. 

[boyst]

38 minutes ago, Instincts said:

To say Maye will never be Allen, when Maye's projectory and numbers already look like this and he is in the running for MVP only SECOND season is absolutely asinine.  Speaking of Goat you're making Allen sound like the GOAT and he isn't.  One of the best dual threat quarterbacks of his generation, and an elite QB? Absolutely.  But can he be lapped by Maye if Maye's projectory continues to rise, ABSOLUTELY.  How long did it take Allen to look they way he did? I'm pretty sure his 4th year maybe 3rd.  This is Drake Maye's 2ND season. 

So, when are you gonna wipe your mouth...? You got a full load of Maye-o-naise...

 

The dude is good. In his second season. He has 3 or 4 more to go but at best his best will be nothing like Allen. They're completely different QB's for one. And McDaniels ability is incredible. 

 

TUA WAS BEATING ALLENS TRAJECTORY. OOPS. no alll caps and too lazy to fix it.

 

I get it. Patriots fans didn't watch football for 4-5 years when the jackass QB they had left... And now they think they still know football.

 

It's a sad pathetic life to be In those shoes....Walter f'n Mitty 

[QLBillsFan]

47 minutes ago, L Ron Burgundy said:

Yeah that's very true.  They have a good return game.

And the Bills even in the Bengals game have lost the field position game by about +- 8 yards per return. The Bills most aren’t likely to win that on Sunday but they can’t allow a huge return.

Edited 20 hours ago by QLBillsFan

[Psautcsk]

15 minutes ago, RunTheBall said:

I think we match up quite well with NE. Our strengths on O are running the ball and throwing to TEs and RBs. That’s where the Pats* are weak. Barmore is their only good DT and he hasn’t been exactly dominating this year. We can exploit their LBs and safeties while throwing the occasional WR pass against their great CBs. Our weakness is WRs and that’s their strength so it’s not like they are negating our strength on O.

 

On defense, we have been much better against the run since Shaq came in. I think we rush 3 with a Mirror spy like we did against Mayfield and Mahomes now that we know Drake won’t hesitate to leave the pocket. Smart blitzing is going to be imperative to get any pressure unless Bosa is back, and even then he’s not 100%

 

If we don’t turn the ball over more than once, it’s a W. I can definitely see the Pats* falling back to the pack and losing a couple games. I don’t think the division is out of reach yet. It’s not likely, but I can see it happening. Winning 10 games in a row is a tremendous accomplishment but they’ve been playing above themselves because they have great coaching. At some point that’s going to bite them, idk if it will be enough to snag the division. Probably not.

 

Except for PatsFanNH, you bandwagon Pats* fan fks should GTFO. You’ve been silent for 5 years, just like the entire bandwagon fan base in NE. I live in NE, there hasn’t been a PEEP about the Pats* for years. Now all of a sudden you are all crawling out of the woodwork like you’ve stuck with your team. Hilarious. You were literally the Harford Pats* before Brady came, that’s how little fan support your team has when they aren’t winning. Jokes.

 

You nailed it about the Pats fans all of a sudden crawling out of the woodwork. I see a lot of Mac Jones jerseys again.

3 minutes ago, boyst said:

So, when are you gonna wipe your mouth...? You got a full load of Maye-o-naise...

 

The dude is good. In his second season. He has 3 or 4 more to go but at best his best will be nothing like Allen. They're completely different QB's for one. And McDaniels ability is incredible. 

 

TUA WAS BEATING ALLENS TRAJECTORY. OOPS. no alll caps and too lazy to fix it.

 

I get it. Patriots fans didn't watch football for 4-5 years when the jackass QB they had left... And now they think they still know football.

 

It's a sad pathetic life to be In those shoes....Walter f'n Mitty 

They were watching the Bruins the last 5 years.

[Johnnycage46]

52 minutes ago, Instincts said:

To say Maye will never be Allen, when Maye's projectory and numbers already look like this and he is in the running for MVP only SECOND season is absolutely asinine.  Speaking of Goat you're making Allen sound like the GOAT and he isn't.  One of the best dual threat quarterbacks of his generation, and an elite QB? Absolutely.  But can he be lapped by Maye if Maye's projectory continues to rise, ABSOLUTELY.  How long did it take Allen to look they way he did? I'm pretty sure his 4th year maybe 3rd.  This is Drake Maye's 2ND season. 

 

Projectory?

[EmotionallyUnstable]

7 hours ago, KCNC said:

I think his wife is having that baby today or soon

Some people are just so selfish. 
 

46 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

Or any of our linebackers. I think that Bernard is being misused a lot, why do they put him in coverage so much.

 

There was a moment in last weeks game where Shaq Thompson was covering Tee Higgins! Why?

Higgins ran a deep over and he ran through Thompson’s zone. That is a very common occurrence in pattern matching in zone for a LB. It is not like they’re lining him up 1v1 against a receiver and asking him to play man.

[gobills404]

1 hour ago, Instincts said:

To say Maye will never be Allen, when Maye's projectory and numbers already look like this and he is in the running for MVP only SECOND season is absolutely asinine.  Speaking of Goat you're making Allen sound like the GOAT and he isn't.  One of the best dual threat quarterbacks of his generation, and an elite QB? Absolutely.  But can he be lapped by Maye if Maye's projectory continues to rise, ABSOLUTELY.  How long did it take Allen to look they way he did? I'm pretty sure his 4th year maybe 3rd.  This is Drake Maye's 2ND season. 

“To say Jayden Daniels will never be Mahomes, when Daniels’ projectory and numbers already look like this and he is in the running for MVP only FIRST season is absolutely asinine.  Speaking of Goat you're making Mahomes sound like the GOAT and he isn't.  One of the best  quarterbacks of his generation, and an elite QB? Absolutely.  But can he be lapped by Daniels if Daniels’ projectory continues to rise, ABSOLUTELY.  How long did it take Mahomes to look they way he did? I'm pretty sure his 2nd year maybe 3rd.  This is Jayden Daniels 1ST season.”

 

-Commanders fans last year

Edited 20 hours ago by gobills404