The Patriots defeated the Bears 38-31 last Sunday at Soldier Field. They moved to 5-2 on the season and are now in sole possession of 1st place in the AFC East. It’s funny looking at where the Pats were in September, and how some people (you know who they are) thought they would fail to make an adjustment. Well, now they are the #2 seed in the AFC and have a win over the current #1 seed on their resume. Meanwhile, the Jaguars fell under .500 last weekend and that game week 2 in Jacksonville seems like it was a long, long time ago.
Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots travel to Buffalo this week for a Monday night matchup at New Era Field against the Buffalo Bills. Here are 3 stats to pay attention to:
- 15-7
Brady has a 14-7 record on Monday Night Football and a 28-3 record against the Bills. The GOAT lives for the spotlight, but the Pats did not get their 1st road win until last week, so we will see how they show up Monday.
2. 38
The Patriots set a franchise record scoring 38 points in 4 consecutive games. They also tied a team record scoring 21 1st half points 4 weeks in a row, which they set in 2012. One common theme I have mentioned a few times is the offense’s 3rd down conversion rate. They are now converting 44.19% of 3rd downs and 50% in the last 3 weeks. Extending possessions is obviously a big reason for the increased scoring. It is fascinating to look back at some of New England’s offenses with legends like Randy Moss and Wes Welker, or the core they had last year highlighting Amendola, Gronk, Cooks, Lewis, White, and Hogan. Obviously the NFL is making it harder for defenses, but this could be something special, we will see if they can keep up the pace against the league’s 4th best passing defense.
3. 12
Although he is listed as questionable right now, Rob Gronkowski has put up tremendous stats against his hometown team. In 13 games against the Bills, Gronk has 66 receptions for 1,027 yds and 12 touchdowns. That is a whopping 15.86 yards per reception, and just under 1 TD per game. He grew up in Amherst, NY, just outside of Buffalo, and has spoken out on his current dislike toward the team for passing on him, a mistake they should regret everyday.
Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. Monday night on ESPN and 98.5 The Sports Hub
–Johnny Maffei is a Staff Writer for Full Press Coverage Sports Media and covers the New England Patriots, Follow him on Twitter @johnnyBSBL4
