For the third time this season, the Buffalo Bills will face the New England Patriots. Both teams have won one game each, but the third game is now about Super Bowl hopes. For the Bills, however, it’s about much more.

Munich – The Buffalo Bills have won the AFC East for the second time in a row. Once again, the New England Patriots were dethroned from the spot that was reserved for the “Pats” for almost 20 years in a row.

This time the Bills want to go one step further than last year, when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Anything less than a Super Bowl berth would be a disappointment.

An entire offseason to beat Kansas City

“Of course you look at the last game [against Kansas City],” Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott admitted in a media roundtable. Logically, because it was an open secret in the offseason that the Bills don’t want to succumb to Kansas City again.

“They’ve been building a team since Josh Allen was drafted in 2018 to finally beat the Chiefs,” “ESPN” pundit Jeff Saturday also analysed the Bills strategy. “They know the road to the Super Bowl is definitely through Kansas City,” Saturday continued.

That’s evidenced by the two highest picks from the most recent draft. The Bills drafted defensive end Greg Rousseau in the first round, followed by Carlos “Boogie” Basham, also a defensive end. Two young talents with the job of chasing the quarterback. Since the Chiefs use the running game only sporadically, the main focus was on the pass rush.

But for there to even be a duel with the Chiefs, the Bills have to get past the New England Patriots (and the Chiefs past the Pittsburgh Steelers). While some pundits and even most Bills fans had projected victory in the AFC East, it ended up being a close call – and the reasons are alarming.

Not a good answer to the running game

Because the Patriots are pretty much the opposite of the Chiefs. Namely, Bill Belichick’s offense comes via short passes from their rookie quarterback Mac Jones as well as a dominant and physical running game with a well-stocked backfield around Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson, Brandon Bolden and fullback Jakob Johnson.

Not for nothing did the Patriots defeat archrival Buffalo in their stadium in Week 13 with an outstanding 222 rushing yards. Belichick knew how to attack the Bills’ defense. No matter how full Buffalo put the “box” against the run, New England usually ran through it anyway.

Not for nothing, Bills safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde left the press conference when asked if the loss, in which Jones had to attach only two passes in adverse conditions (wind gusts gusting up to 90 mph), was “embarrassing.”

Across the ground, the Bills are vulnerable, with only four teams allowing more rushing touchdowns, plus the Bills are also ranked just 13th in rushing yards allowed – despite fielding the league’s best defense overall.

More at stake for the Buffalo Bills than any other team

So there’s more at stake for the Buffalo Bills than just getting into the Divisional Round. Logically, everyone wants to advance in the playoffs and the New England Patriots, who are used to success, do anyway. But for the Bills, a loss would be more than just a normal exit in the postseason.

Not only would it be one less year in which star quarterback Allen costs little money, it would be almost embarrassing, analogous to the first meeting in the regular season, to lose at home to their archrival with a rookie quarterback.

Last but not least, the team that was specifically designed to beat the Kansas City Chiefs wouldn’t even get a chance to face the Chiefs. Whether the Bills can get such a good squad together again is an open question.

So the Bills are under a lot of pressure, which the team has put on itself. The “Bills Mafia” will hope they can live up to it – to get their revenge against Kansas City.