WGR

‘The Bills trailed 10-0 in the second quarter and faced a fourth and goal at the Bucs three yard line. McDermott opted for a field goal. You might have had flashbacks to the AFC Championship game at that moment. In a first half where the defense was getting picked apart by the possible league MVP Tom Brady, the Bills head coach didn’t think a touchdown would be more important. Tampa has the number one scoring offense and averages more than 30 points a game yet McDermott felt three points would be enough. I’m not sure why he forgot you need touchdowns to beat the explosive offenses and not field goals.’

‘The Bills finished the game a putrid 2-of-13 on third down for just 15.4%. They were 0-for-5 in the first half on third down, where they not only couldn’t score, but had a lot of trouble sustaining drives.’

‘The addition of Feliciano means the Bills could have all five of their starting offensive linemen back playing in their regular positions on Sunday, including left tackle Dion Dawkins, right guard Daryl Williams, center Mitch Morse, and right tackle Spencer Brown.’

‘The Buccaneers defense is the second-best in the league at stopping the run, giving up just 84.3 yards per game, and eighth-best at 4.06 per play. The Bills have struggled to run the ball lately, and are ranked 14th in the NFL in yards per game overall. So it will be tough to do that in this one. However, Tampa has given up over 248 yards passing a game, as well as a 68.2% completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks, seventh-most in the NFL. The Bills have thrown for over 259 yards a game and should look to do what they do best against a Tampa defense that can be susceptible to it – throw the football, and keep throwing it.’

‘Lotulelei, who just returned to game action last week after missing three games while on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, will be out with a toe injury. Sweeney is dealing with a hip injury.’

‘For the Bills, four players were listed as limited participants due to inquires, including fullback Reggie Gilliam, who missed Monday night’s loss to the Patriots with an ankle injury, and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, who is dealing with a toe injury.’

‘”Want to make sure we’re on the same page, I believe we are. Got to go out there and execute at a higher level.”‘

‘The Bills had to deal with an onslaught of running plays in a game where Patriots Quarterback Mac Jones only threw three passes and completing two of them. Meanwhile the Patriots running backs, Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson, and Brandon Bolden combined for a total of 217 yards on 38 carries.’

‘Obviously the wind had an impact on the game but so did the Bills coaching. They hurt their offense more than the Patriots defense did. The Bills coached the first half like they were afraid of their passing game but when they drafted Josh Allen, didn’t they do it in part because he had a strong arm and could still throw the ball when the weather turns in December and January.’

‘I didn’t understand the play-calling in the red zone, especially runs between the tackles after the Bills had moved the ball down the field throwing it, as well as putting Josh Allen under center when he had been in shotgun much more successfully. Allen didn’t help matters by just throwing up a pass because he thought the Patriots were offsides, essentially giving away a free play.’

‘The Patriots have been terrific at insulating rookie quarterback Mac Jones and not asking him to do too much. Jones ranks 20th in the NFL with an average length of pass from the line of scrimmage to target of 7.54 yards. He ranks 26th with an average length of completion from line of scrimmage to target of 5.44 yards. The wind is going to be a huge factor in the game, with gusts of at least 40 mph expected. The Bills should make sure the Patriots can’t run the ball like they want, forcing them into situations where Jones has to make some throws to beat them.’

‘Both players participated in practice inside the ADPRO Sports Training Center, but Lotulelei actually appeared on the team’s first injury report of the week as limited with an “illness” following the session. Brown did not have any injury designation, meaning he was a full participant.’

‘We just got out of the old world, where every decision they made was brilliant. We just got out of a dark time, in which every single draft miss and free agent flop was quickly swept under the rug because they had some sort of mythical “#WAY” about them.’

‘Feliciano was placed on Injured Reserve with a calf injury back on November 6 and has missed the last four games.’

‘After a massive spending spree on skill position players and deciding to give the starting quarterback job to rookie Mac Jones, the answer is they’re getting enough to make it work. I’ve watched Jones play a few times this season and he doesn’t wow you but he runs their offense efficiently. He is most definitely a manage the game quarterback but sometimes that’s even too much for a rookie.’