Brady eagerly looks forward to playing Bills on Monday night
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) >> Tom Brady is so looking forward to his annual trip to Buffalo the Patriots quarterback posted a video on social media playfully announcing his impending arrival.
“Another great win, 5-2. Got to get to 6-2,” he said, walking alongside teammate Lawrence Guy following a 38-31 victory at Chicago last weekend. And when Guy chimed in by saying, “6-2 on the way,” Brady responded with a wideeyed: “Woo! Bills Mafia, here we come.”
Bills fans, who refer to themselves as the “Mafia,” naturally took Brady’s remarks as a taunt in advance of Buffalo (2-5) hosting New England on Monday night.
The more upset fans are, the better, Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes said.
“I think it’s perfect,” Hughes said. “I think that’s great to get our fans riled up,
up, because we’re going to need all that anger, all that hostility.”
The young, patchwork and offensively challenged Bills could use whatever edge they can get for various reasons.
They’re already on their third starting quarterback, with Derek Anderson filling in for injured rookie Josh Allen; have scored just 81 points; and have lost by 22 or more three times, including a 37-5 meltdown at Indianapolis last weekend.
Then there’s the prospect of facing Brady, who at 41, has every good reason to be upbeat given his career-long string of dominance over New England’s AFC East rival.
With a 28-3 record against Buffalo, Brady holds the NFL mark for most wins by a quarterback against one opponent. His 466 yards passing in a 40-32 win at Buffalo in 2015 are the most against the Bills. He threw five touchdown passes — four to Randy Moss alone — in having a hand in Buffalo’s most lopsided home loss, a 56-10 Patriots win in 2007.
And Brady also contributed to the Patriots racking up 580 yards offense — the most allowed by Buffalo at home — in a 52-28 win in 2012.
The past means nothing to the Patriots, who are 31-5 against Buffalo since 2000, when Bill Belichick took over as coach.
“It’s always tough in Buffalo,” Belichick said, discounting the fact the Patriots have won six straight at Orchard Park, New York, by a combined margin of 230-144.
The Patriots enters the game on a roll, having scored 38 or more points in winning four straight.
Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams took no exception to Brady’s remarks.
“Why wouldn’t the man be confident, right? I think that comes with good players,” Williams said, referring to Brady’s 201-57 career record. “Good players are confident. Great players are even more confident. That’s no shock.”
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The Bills are 2-10 in their past 12 Monday night games, and have lost six straight since a 23-18 win at Miami in 1999. Buffalo hasn’t hosted a Monday night game since Phil Dawson hit a decisive 56-yard field goal with 1:39 remaining in a 29-27 loss to Cleveland on Nov. 17, 2008.
Buffalo is 0-13 in games played on either Sunday or Monday nights since a 2000 season-opening 16-13 win against Tennessee. Adding in Thursday and Saturday night games, Buffalo is a combined 3-18 since 2001.
Then management messed up the backup QB configuration by acquiring, then getting rid of, AJ McCarron after having traded away Tyrod Taylor, who helped get them to the postseason for the first time since the turn of the century. Sure, going after Josh Allen in the first round of the draft made sense. Sticking him in behind a depleted and under-skilled line and with no true No. 1 receivers does not.
What’s going on in Jacksonville is another example of much of the blame being misplaced. No, Bortles has not earned his keep this season, but he’s been inconsistent throughout his fiveyear pro career, and there was no reason to believe he’d become an All-Pro.
That’s not what the Jaguars were looking for, anyway — though they would have taken it. They want to pound the ball with Leonard Fournette, but he’s been injured almost as often as he’s been healthy. And they wanted to rely on their defense, which has sprung leaks.
Bortles’ strength is as a complementary piece. When he has to be a focal point, he tends to flop.
Then there’s Manning, whose two Super Bowl rings should have earned him a lot more respect and leeway than the New York fans or tabloids are willing to dole out. Manning hasn’t lost his grit, his intelligence or his arm strength. What he’s lost is a semblance of protection from an offensive line weaker than any other than perhaps Buffalo’s.