What to Watch For on Sunday: Bills at Patriots

Things looked good going into last Sunday, as the Pittsburgh Steelers went into their game against the New England Patriots hoping to win and keep their dreams of home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs alive.

Unfortunately, those dreams didn’t survive the ground, and the Steelers find themselves tied with New England at 11-3, with the Patriots, of course, holding the tiebreaker to give themselves the top seed if the two teams should end up tied. However, if the Steelers win out, they can ensure home-field advantage throughout with one more Patriots loss.

New England plays the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, and, don’t look now, but the Bills would be a playoff team if the season ended today.

The Bills  have been flying under the radar this season, apart from Pitt alum Nate Peterman’s disastrous five interceptions against the Chargers on November 19. Fear not, Sean McDermott immediately returned Tyrod Taylor to the quarterback position, and Buffalo currently sits in second in the AFC East.

Taylor’s thrown for 2,314 yards 13 touchdowns this season, good for a QBR rating of 57.5. LeSean McCoy, another Pitt alum, has rushed for over a thousand yards on 259 carries. However, both were stymied at home against New England earlier this month, with Taylor going 9 for 18 with an interception, and McCoy held to 93 yards on 15 carries.

But, as we’ve seen this season, the Patriots are beatable. They lost to the now free-falling Chiefs week 1, and to the Dolphins the week before the Steelers game. We saw the Steelers hold momentum and nearly beat them last week, even without Antonio Brown, the best receiver in football, for more than half the game. They’re not the ruthless bullies shoving everyone out of their way on the run to another inevitable Super Bowl the way they normally are.

The Bills are hungry to show the world they’re not the same old Bills. Again, if the season ended today, they would make the playoffs, so let’s not discount tomorrow’s game as a mere formality before New England unwraps another top seed for Christmas.

Next: Injury Report: Almost everyone returns

Be in front of your TV at 1:00 Sunday and hope for a Christmas miracle in Foxboro, the Grinch’s hometown.