ORCHARD PARK – After all the misery Bill Belichick and Tom Brady inflicted on the Buffalo Bills during their nearly two decades together with the now crumbled Evil Empire in New England, it’s kind of a shame the Patriots aren’t coming to Highmark Stadium with those two still in place.

Sure, the Bills exacted a scant amount of revenge on Belichick in his final four seasons as head coach in New England, nothing greater than the perfect game 47-17 blowout in the 2021 AFC wild-card round which happened to be the last postseason game Belichick coached in the NFL.

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But by then, Brady was already playing his second year for Tampa Bay and coming off yet another Super Bowl championship and with an absurd 33-3 record against the Bills, Brady never had to truly suffer at the hands of the Bills. Certainly not in the way the current iteration of the last place 3-11 Patriots – led by coach Jerod Mayo and rookie QB Drake Maye – may on Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium if the divergent paths of both teams in 2024 holds firm.

Coming off a 48-42 shootout victory in Detroit which ended the Lions’ 11-game winning streak, the Bills have the most dangerous and explosive offense in the NFL, having scored at least 30 points in eight straight games, something only five teams in NFL history have done including Brady’s Patriots twice, in 2007 and 2010.

The Bills have scored at least 40 in the last two, something that has happened just three times in franchise history, and Josh Allen is solidifying his now undeniable MVP case by somehow outdoing himself week to week.

Allen became the second player in league annals with at least 350 passing yards, 50 rushing yards, two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns in a game, joining Russell Wilson (Sept. 22, 2019, with Seattle). And he is now the first player with at least two TDs passing and rushing in consecutive games, and the first player all-time with three such games in a season.

Brady was on the call for FOX in Los Angeles when Allen was otherworldly in Buffalo’s 44-42 loss, and in his weekly three stars column for their website, he wrote of Allen’s 424-yard, six-TD masterpiece in a losing cause, “I know they lost, but he played so well that I’m breaking my rule, and he’s winning star of the week. It was awesome to see his command of the offense in person. Six total touchdowns! I know all you fantasy owners are super happy about that.”

Then on Sunday after the Lions’ game, the analysts on Sunday Night Football took the bullhorn and couldn’t stop gushing about Allen after he totaled 430 yards and four touchdowns without suffering a sack or a turnover.

“Josh Allen is simply ridiculous,” Jason Garrett said. “Think about what he’s done here the last couple of weeks. It’s historic what he’s doing. He’s making the whole thing look real easy.”

Added Chris Simms, “Josh Allen is one of the greatest talents we have ever seen in football. This year, he’s got the supporting cast around him on the offensive side of the ball – even if the defense isn’t great – to carry this show like we saw (Sunday), and that’s where they’re different from in years past.”

Good luck Patriots, you’re going to need it.

Buffalo Bills keys to victory

Do not play down to the level of competition. This is going to be the Bills’ task over these final three weeks as they play the Patriots twice and the Jets once, teams that have a combined record of 7-21. Sean McDermott has generally done a good job of keeping his teams laser-focused on the next opponent, while also respecting the opponent regardless of its record.

This season alone, the Bills have won all eight games they have played against teams that currently have .500 or worse records heading into Week 16 and this is no time to take a step back. Their big win in Detroit coupled with Pittsburgh’s loss to Philadelphia gives the Bills a one-game lead in the race for the AFC’s No. 2 seed.

As for the No. 1 seed, while it’s unlikely that they’ll snatch it from the Chiefs because they wield powerful voodoo magic, the Bills are still alive with three weeks to go, and Kansas City has a tougher schedule against three probable playoff teams – home against the Texans then at the Steelers and Chargers – and Patrick Mahomes may be hindered by the ankle injury he suffered Sunday in the win over the Browns. Never say never.

New England Patriots keys to victory

Play amazing defense and hope the Bills make a bunch of mistakes in the form of penalties, turnovers and special teams disasters and whatever else you can think of because their offense is essentially non-functional and will probably struggle, even against a banged up Buffalo defense.

Rookie QB Drake Maye is looking like he’ll have a nice future in the NFL if the early returns are an indication, but the Patriots are still ranked 31st in the league in points per game (17.0), 30th in yards per game (292.5) and they are 29th in red zone TD percentage (46.3%). That’s not going to get it done against Buffalo’s offense which remains No. 2 in the NFL at 31.8 points per game.

Matchup to watch

New England’s pass defense has been respectable because Mayo trots out a talented secondary that includes CBs Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones, and safeties Kyle Dugger and Jabril Peppers, but the run defense has been sieve-like for most of the season. Coming off their bye week Sunday, they gave up 163 on the ground in their 30-17 loss to the Cardinals including 110 to James Conner, and 144 to the Colts including 109 by QB Anthony Richardson in their 25-24 loss to Indianapolis in their previous game. Earlier this season Miami had 193 and Houston 192.

If the Patriots can’t contain Buffalo’s three-headed RB attack of James Cook, Ray Davis and Ty Johnson, not to mention the X-factor that is Allen, the Bills will be able to do whatever they want on offense. If the Patriots create trouble for the Bills’ run game, they might have a chance to stay in the game, but even that’s a longshot.

Who wins? Bills 33, Patriots 10

Crazy things happen every week in the NFL, but it’s pretty tough, almost impossible, to imagine that the Patriots can put up a fight against the Bills, let alone beat them. Their best chance would probably be if the awful Orchard Park weather rears its hideous head again and disrupts the machine-like precision of Buffalo’s offense and thus lessening the overwhelming talent advantage the Bills have over New England.

For all fans who continue to wax poetic about snow games, look at what the Bills just did playing in perfect conditions in Los Angeles and Detroit. When Allen and the offensive skill players can utilize the full breadth of their athleticism, they can devastate a defense. When the weather turns ugly – and while the long-range forecast isn’t calling for snow Sunday, the temperature might be in the teens – it usually works against the Bills.

Still, even bad weather won’t be enough to help the Patriots and this could become a game where we’re watching Mitch Trubisky handing off to Ray Davis midway through the fourth quarter while Allen takes a well-deserved rest under a parka on the sideline.