Crucial Update Amid Patriots’ Pursuit Of No. 1 Overall Draft Pick

Losing on Sunday would be extremely beneficial to the Patriots, but New England’s chances of winning its season finale effectively went up Monday.

Sean McDermott revealed the Bills’ quarterback game plan for Buffalo’s Week 18 trip to Foxboro, Mass. While Josh Allen will start the matinee matchup at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots won’t have to deal with the MVP frontrunner for very long.

“One of the things that we know is very, very important to (Allen) is his consecutive starts streak, if you will, and it’s important to him for a great reason,” McDermott told reporters, per ESPN. “He wants to be out there with his teammates and so he will be out there for a very, very short-lived amount of time and then he’ll be off rather quickly there.”

Allen playing wire-to-wire Sunday obviously would have increased the likelihood of a Patriots loss, which would lock New England into the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Instead, Jerod Mayo’s side likely will find itself in a more competitive contest with Mitchell Trubisky behind center for the Bills for the majority of the afternoon.

That is, unless, the Patriots also don’t play their starting quarterback much in Week 18, if at all. And speaking with reporters Monday, Mayo indicated there was a real possibility rookie Joe Milton III could receive playing time against Buffalo.