New England Patriots
“This team is full of [players] that were castoffs and people who were cut or people who didn’t necessarily get the opportunity that they wanted.”
FOXBOROUGH — The New England Patriots (11-2) boast a better record than the Buffalo Bills (9-4) entering Sunday’s anticipated rematch at Gillette Stadium.
New England — granted a chance to clinch its first AFC East title with a win on Sunday — has plenty of momentum in its favor against Josh Allen and the Bills. After all, New England already went into Buffalo and bested the Bills, 23-20, at Highmark Stadium in a primetime bout on Oct. 5.
But, despite the Patriots’ impressive results so far this season, oddsmakers like FanDuel have Buffalo tabbed as 1.5-point favorites for Sunday’s game in Foxborough.
Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs noted on Wednesday ahead of practice that he was not aware that New England is entering Week 15 as underdogs in their own stadium.
His response?
“Good,” Diggs declared.
Even with New England currently sitting atop the NFL standings alongside Denver with identical 11-2 records, the Patriots seemingly still have plenty to prove as they brace for their first trip to the postseason since 2021.
Be it discourse over the Patriots’ strength of schedule this season, the Bills’ recent play, or oddsmakers still favoring recent NFL powerhouses like Buffalo over rising clubs like New England this season, Mike Vrabel’s team still isn’t exactly receiving its flowers as one of the top teams in the league so far this winter.
That lack of recognition, as least in regards to these latest odds, doesn’t seem to impact New England’s head coach.
“It gets brought to my attention,” Vrabel said of New England’s standing as underdogs. “I don’t think that – every week you see in this league that records really don’t mean anything, the point spreads and survivor pools get blown up every week and all that other stuff.
“So, we’re just trying to focus on our preparation here and getting back into it. Had a good day Monday, excited about the meetings thus far today, and then progress through the week.”
While Vrabel didn’t take the bait on Wednesday when asked about New England embracing its standing as an underdog against Buffalo, Diggs believes it will galvanize a roster that is already operating with a chip on its collective shoulder.
“Edge. A real edge,” Diggs said. “That’s why I said it was good. This team is full of [players] that were castoffs and people who were cut or people who didn’t necessarily get the opportunity that they wanted. However you dice it up. I feel like that’s good for us.
“Being an underdog, people like us have been an underdog our whole life. We’re going to have something to prove regardless of it. I think the main thing is it gets exciting when you’re an underdog, when you’ve got a lot to prove, when you’re playing with that edge and you’re playing aggressive because nobody believes in us but us.”
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