FOXBORO, Mass. — It’s only Tuesday, but one thing is obvious this week: The Patriots aren’t overlooking the Buffalo Bills.
Head coach Bill Belichick’s message to the Patriots seems to be ringing loud and clear — no talk about the playoffs until after Week 17.
“I don’t think Buffalo cares much that we clinched the No. 1 seed,” safety Devin McCourty said. “Right now our focus is on Buffalo. We realize this is a game we’re playing, and we want to go out there and win. We talked about (how) after Thanksgiving is when football starts, and it’s important to get better each time we step on the field. Getting the No. 1 seed doesn’t change that. We still want to go out there and play good football every time we get out there.”
The Patriots clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs when the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Denver Broncos on Monday night. Since there’s nothing technically at stake in Sunday’s game against the Bills, there’s been speculation that the Patriots could rest their starters. McCourty will be prepared regardless.
“I’m ready to play,” McCourty said. “We’re players. We don’t decide who plays, what plays we call. We only can do one thing, and that’s be ready to play.”
McCourty, unlike some of his teammates, admitted to watching Monday night’s game, which ended with a Peyton Manning interception.
“I watched some of the game,” McCourty said. “I think it’s natural. Even without the implications, just to see Denver and Cincy play, a bunch of us would have been watching the game.”
McCourty isn’t ready to talk about the playoffs just yet, but he did comment on the power of home-field advantage. The Patriots are 7-0 this season, and haven’t lost a regular-season home game since 2012. They’ve already beat both teams vying for the No. 2 seed — the Broncos and Bengals — at home this season.
“It’s been huge. I think this team loves playing at home,” McCourty said about fan support. “We love playing in front of our fans, and they’ve given us a reason to feel that way. They’ve come out here every time we’ve played at home. I think none bigger than when we came back and played after the Kansas City game, playing at home. The fans came, and I thought they supported us great. We went out there and played good football, so it’s been a mix of good football and good fans.”
Thumbnail photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images
