Patriots Defender Has Message For Bills Mafia Ahead Of Week 17 Game

FOXBORO, Mass. -- From throwing sex toys onto the field to swan-diving off RVs to creating defeating noise inside their home stadium, Buffalo Bills fans are among the craziest in all of sports.

Patriots defender Jahlani Tavai respects Bills Mafia and the passion it brings on gamedays. But he also has every intention of shutting up Bills fans when New England visits Highmark Stadium on Sunday.

"It's cool, it's cool," Tavai said Wednesday when asked about the atmosphere in Buffalo. "But we have a goal, and our goal is to go in there, into enemy territory, and do our best and keep 'em quiet. So, we're gonna do our best on our side. ... I'm trying to imagine that and make it a reality. So, it's a cool atmosphere, but we wanna do something about that."

The Patriots successfully quieted the Bills when the two teams met at Gillette Stadium in Week 7. New England finally limited star quarterback Josh Allen and Mac Jones delivered arguably the best drive of his career.

However, with Jones now benched, Sunday's rematch will pit Allen against Bailey Zappe, who won two of his last three starts. New England will be looking to win in Buffalo for just the second time since 2019.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.