The New England Patriots host the Buffalo Bills this Sunday in the first of two divisional matchups on the season between the two teams.
New England has struggled mightily this season, but they have also struggled to compete with the Josh Allen-led Bills, who are a much-improved team compared to the basement dwellers the Tom Brady-age Patriots faced for years.
This week, the Patriots will need to shift their focus to one of the game’s elite wide receivers, Stefon Diggs. Diggs has been a matchup nightmare for Patriots cornerbacks dating back to 2018. For what it’s worth, not many corners in the NFL can stop one of the game’s best weapons.
In seven games against the Patriots, including one in 2018 with the Vikings, Diggs is averaging 6.4 catches with 88.3 receiving yards per game. Diggs has found success against the Patriots regardless of who is covering him, and this time, he’ll be facing a team expected to trot out a banged-up secondary.
J.C. Jackson and Jonathan Jones will likely be the two healthy boundary corners to start the game, and it is likely Jackson will be covering Diggs, a player he has struggled mightily against in his Patriots career.
If the Patriots wish to win this game, it will start with taking away Josh Allen’s favorite target. This task, much like we have seen through the first six weeks, is easier said than done.
Diggs has only dropped below 100 yards one time this season, and that came against the Las Vegas Raiders in a game where he still had seven catches for 66 yards. He is truly in the game’s elite ranks, and he will give the Patriots’ banged-up secondary a ton of trouble this week.
Even if they manage to stop Diggs, the Bills still have a dynamic enough offense led by Allen, who often finds ways to make plays out of nothing. To add insult to injury, if the Patriots manage to blanket and take away Diggs, there’s a chance they could struggle to stop Gabe Davis, Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox or James Cook in the process.
The Patriots have been great against shutting down first options, but outside of that, they have been terrible. It’s a sign that they are sending the kitchen sink at the x-factor player for every team each week, but they are failing to contain other options.
A good offense will take advantage of this, even if the Patriots force other players to beat them.
This is a remarkable split in the "Defense vs. Types of Receivers" numbers.#Patriots are No. 1 against WR1.
Then they are 30th vs WR2, 32nd vs WR Other, 29th vs TE, and 24th vs RB.WR1 yds vs. Patriots
Brown PHI 79
Hill MIA 40
Wilson NYJ 48
Lamb DAL 36
Olave NO 12
Adams LV 29— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) October 19, 2023
This week will be a challenging one for the secondary, and although it starts with containing Diggs, it will involve a full defensive effort from a Patriots’ unit that clearly isn’t 100 percent.
