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Patriots-Bills preview: What to watch for with No. 1 draft pick at stake originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO — We’re handling the matchup preview, ahead of the Patriots and Bills tilt, a bit differently this week given the circumstances. Buffalo has the No. 2 seed locked up and won’t be going for the win. The Patriots say they’re trying to win but could lock up the No. 1 overall pick in the draft with a loss.
Call us crazy, but breaking down “Josh Allen vs. DeMarcus Covington” doesn’t feel like it’s worth your while. Instead, let’s get into some of the juicier subplots of what could be one of the weirdest games in recent memory at Gillette Stadium.
Matchup that will matter
Drake Maye’s competitiveness vs. Organizational decision-making
There is little reason to have Drake Maye play the entirety of the contest on Sunday. Simply, the risk far outweighs the reward.
Among the priorities for today’s meaningless game, played against a Bills team that won’t be going all-out for the win, has to be Maye’s health. Having him go into Year 2 with the ability to have a full offseason and make a real leap going into the 2025 campaign? That matters more than his ability to execute a two-minute drive or run a huddle for a couple dozen more snaps.
But Maye is a competitor. And his coaches are competitors. And they’ve all been mired in a brutally difficult season. Will Jerod Mayo, Eliot Wolf or — most importantly — the Krafts ever make it clear that playing Maye less than a full complement of snaps has to be the approach on Sunday? Would they be able to prioritize the long-haul over the win-at-all-costs approach that typically permeates every NFL game?
It’s a delicate balance for this regime. Openly tanking a game by making roster choices that would indicate that kind organizational attitude could rub players the wrong way. But the season is lost. And this year has been about asset management to a large degree — trading their best pass-rusher prior to the season,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-bills-preview-watch-no-162122062.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2025-01-05 17:12:00
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