Mother Nature a big factor in Monday night showdown
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Heading into Monday night’s kickoff, the hottest team in the NFL had to bundle up.
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
The Patriots, winners of a leaguehigh six straight, played their coldest game of the season against the Bills in primetime. The wind chill at Highmark Stadium dipped below 20 degrees at kickoff, with wind gusts swirling up to 50 mph. Temperatures never dipped below freezing, but that didn’t stop snow squalls from interrupting pregame warmups.
Pats coach Bill Belichick told ESPN before kickoff he expected the winds to affect the kicking game — and he was right. Patriots kicker Nick Folk failed to hit from beyond 40 yards in warmups while kicking into the wind, but made a 55-yard attempt with the wind at his back. Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass had multiple attempts swing wide ride by more than 10 yards.
Pats quarterback Mac Jones later took the field for the coldest game of his life. Lucky for him, only two of the Pats’ four remaining regularseason game have the potential to be bad-weather affairs. Both are at home: Dec. 26 versus Buffalo and Jan. 2 against the Jaguars. Following their upcoming bye, the Patriots will play next at Indianapolis, where the Colts play in a dome, and later finish their season in Miami on Jan. 9.
Collins activated off IR
Last week at practice, Patriots safety Devin McCourty joked to Jamie Collins it was good to see him return after his “three-week vacation,” a dig at Collins’ recent stay on injured reserve.
As of Monday night, play time was officially over.
The Patriots activated Collins off IR on Monday afternoon. Collins had missed every game since hurting his ankle during a Week 9 win at Carolina. Entering kickoff in Buffalo, the veteran linebacker had totaled seven tackles, a sack and one interception over five games appearances.
The Pats signed him in early October, after Collins received his release from Detroit. The 32-yearold has played inside and outside linebacker in reserve action and was active against the Bills.
Dugger stays on COVID reserve
Patriots safety Kyle Dugger missed every practice this week after testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and did not play in Buffalo.
Dugger’s odds of returning to play Monday were low, though there was a small chance. If Dugger is vaccinated, he could have produced two negative tests separated by 24 hours and been cleared, provided he was asymptomatic. If he showed symptoms, Dugger would’ve needed to be asymptomatic for 48 hours straight and produced negative tests in consecutive days.
Pats healthy — again
Questionable? Ha.
For the third straight week, every Patriot listed as questionable on the team’s injury report was active. Starting right tackle Trent Brown and defensive tackle Christian Barmore were among the eight supposed question marks, but both suited up. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, cornerback Shaun Wade and linebacker Jahlani Tavai were the Pats’ most notable inactives.
The Patriots also elevated defensive lineman Daniel Ekuale, who notched a sack of Bills QB Josh Allen, and safety Sean Davis from the practice squad. Davis made his gameday debut a month after getting signed off the street. The former Steeler helped provide depth in Dugger’s absence, while Ekuale gave the Pats’ an extra body to stop the run after allowing a seasonworst 269 yards to Tennessee last week.
For the Bills, run-stuffing defensive tackle Star Lotulelei was active after returning from injured reserve. Wide receivers WR Marquez Stevenson and Isaiah McKenzie were ruled inactive.