New England at Buffalo, 8:15p, ESPN (Bills +14, O/ 44.5)
Last week I mistakenly thought that Josh Allen was starting and totally blew that pick which helped me finish 7-7 and not 8-6, silly me, poor write up, that’s what I get. I won’t make the same mistake this week however. Seeing the score of the Bills game last week made me realize that Josh Allen was the glue that held that ship semi above water. He was the saving grace to give some hope in possibly covering spreads like this one given his raw talent and fiery competitiveness. Derek Anderson used to be a capable fill in but not on short notice with a brand new team, trying to learn an offense and gain trust in receivers in 2 weeks.
The Patriots absolutely love coming into these divisional matchups against a weaker team like the Bills. They love establishing who the king is, who owns the division, how great they are. Belichick will run up the score in the first 3 3/4 quarters of the game and if necessary, they’ll still slap you in the face in that last 1/4th of the fourth quarter. They just don’t have fun, they might a little since Gronk is on the team but they show up to do a job, say their peace to opposing players on the team and leave. That’s what they do and that’s how they’ve been mentally focused since 2000.
Game note, Josh Gordon will sit the first several series for being late to a team meeting. He’s feeling the wrath of Bill Belichick just 6 weeks into his stay with the Patriots. Could that be a sign that he’s already slipping? We shall see in the coming weeks.
It’s one of the leagues best versus one of the leagues worst. It’s been 10 years since Monday night football has been in Buffalo and after tonight, it’ll be 10 years until they come back. Take the Patriots to cover in the win and in the under, Patriots 28-10.
#beatyourbookie
Necessary Roughness 