Seven teams sit at 3-0 heading into Week 4 of the NFL season. Two of them will meet Sunday afternoon in upstate New York.
The Buffalo Bills will host the New England Patriots in a battle of AFC East rivals. While the Patriots undoubtedly have been the more impressive team thus far, the Bills have earned their respect, and many are circling Sean McDermott’s squad as a potential dark horse for the playoffs this season.
An upset certainly can’t be ruled out. New Era Field, one of the tougher places to play for visiting teams, will be rocking, and Buffalo could present somewhat of a shellshock to the Patriots, who have beaten up on vastly inferior competition through three weeks. Still, Phil Simms believes the reigning champions will be too much to handle for the upstart Bills.
“Man, I love the Bills. I think they’re going to be a playoff team this year, but you know, the Patriots, they got so many hardened veterans that have been in big games, in these tough situations,” Simms said on the latest edition of Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.” “The Bills are still learning how to win. They had to pull two victories out where they almost blew it the last couple weeks. It’s going to be exciting, it’s going to be close, but I think the Patriots will win.”
History also is on New England’s side. Tom Brady has racked up 30 (!) wins over Buffalo over the course of his career, the most of any quarterback against one team in the Super Bowl era. Brady also has the most wins at New Era Field since 2001. Yes, that includes Bills quarterbacks.
So even though the Patriots are battling a few injuries heading into Sunday’s showdown, you probably can count on Brady and Co. improving to 4-0.
