The floodgates have opened for Jason Whitlock.
Whitlock, who promised after Week 7 he’d never again bet against the Patriots, has been on an anti-New England frenzy ever since the reigning Super Bowl champions fell to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9. To his credit, the “Speak For Yourself” host has landed a handful of correct bets — including taking Kansas City on the road in Week 13 — over the past handful of weeks, and he sure sounds confident about his pick for Saturday afternoon.
The FOX Sports 1 pundit likes the Bills’ chances of knocking off the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, and he channeled his inner Max Kellerman to deliver the prediction.
“…The Patriots have a little problem with a running quarterback. I think the Bills are going to run Josh Allen a little bit more than usual and then their defense — Tre’Davious White and that defense — are going to choke Tom Brady out,” Whitlock said. “Tom Brady’s on fumes right now. People are saying right now, ‘My god, Brady led the Patriots.’ I’m like, ‘Did you watch the game?’ Brady was mediocre at best. That defense and Stephon Gilmore carried Tom Brady across the finish line. Tom Brady, I love you. I’m not trying to disrespect you, but you’re 42 and you’re starting to fall off a cliff. The Bills are going to gently push him over the cliff on Saturday…”
"Tom Brady I love you. I’m not trying to disrespect you but you’re 42 and you’re starting to fall off a cliff. The Bills are going to gently push him over the cliff on Saturday." — @WhitlockJason pic.twitter.com/EAciIzOAKf
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) December 17, 2019
At this point, it’s become impossible to understand what “off the cliff” even means. Yes, Brady is gradually declining as all athletes do but he still is more than capable of leading the Patriots offense. It seems highly unlikely we’re going to see any sort of sharp dropoff from New England’s QB.
Whitlock also might be overstating the Patriots’ troubles with running quarterbacks. New England obviously had no answers for Lamar Jackson, but the same can be said for virtually every team the Ravens have faced this season. Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, both mobile signal-callers, were able to lead their respective teams to win over the Patriots in recent weeks but both largely did so with their arms.
Allen wasn’t very good — 13 of 28 for 153 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions — in Buffalo’s home loss to New England back in Week 4. The second-year QB certainly has promise, but expecting him to rise to the occasion in a mid-December game in Foxboro might be ambitious.
