FOXBORO — Mike Vrabel’s latest inspirational tool for the Patriots is pretty straightforward.
A win this week means the Patriots have captured the AFC East for the first time in six years. They would be greeted by AFC East championship hats and T-shirts with a win.
“I don’t use the hat and T-shirt. We’re just trying to play for the championship that we have available this week,” Vrabel said Monday. “And I think it’s a great testament to our players that have put us in this position to be able to do that.
“That’s not going to be easy. This is a very good football team. There’s a reason that they’ve won this division five years in a row. A lot of respect for them. They’re never out of it, never down, and they may be down, and just like last week, it’s a football team that understands that somebody’s going to make a play. And then the quarterback is going to give them a chance to the very end.”
In the past, Vrabel has inspired the Patriots to be the first team to get to 10 wins, and to “win the NFC South” by sweeping the Panthers, Saints, Falcons and Buccaneers.
The 11-2 Patriots entered the week as 1.5-point underdogs to the 9-4 Bills, who trail the Patriots in the AFC East by two games. But with a victory Sunday, the Patriots would win the tiebreaker with the Bills if they finish the season with an identical record.
The Patriots previously beat the Bills 23-20 on the road in Week 5. That was the second game of their still-ongoing 10-game winning streak.
“There’s a lot that’s changed, but I think you can kind of see some of the play styles, matchups, things that they may come back to or things that we need to be more prepared for, and then kind of use that as a place to kind of go from,” Vrabel said Monday. “And then, again, some of the things that they’ve done really well, I’m sure they’ll continue to do and add wrinkles. It’s a great challenge.”
The Bills, led by quarterback Josh Allen, are not as high-powered as they’ve been in recent years, though they have now beaten the Steelers and Bengals in back-to-back weeks. Head coach Sean McDermott’s squad was 4-0 heading into their Week 5 matchup with the Patriots and have since lost to the Falcons, Dolphins and Texans.
Buffalo still ranks second in the NFL in total yards and first in rushing yards, led by running back James Cook, who’s having a career year with 249 rushing attempts for 1,308 yards and eight touchdowns.
Allen currently ranks fourth in NFL MVP odds behind Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, Patriots QB Drake Maye and Packers QB Jordan Love.