The Buffalo Bills started the season on fire, while the New England Patriots struggled out of the gate. The two met in Week 4, with the Bills sitting atop the AFC East with a record of 3-0 while the Patriots were 1-2.
There's still plenty of time left in the season, but a win could have essentially buried the Patriots. Instead, the Bills played a sloppy game and lost 29-26 to the Patriots. That allowed New England to improve to 2-2 on the season and gave them plenty of confidence.
That confidence was on full display in Week 5 as the Patriots ran the Las Vegas Raiders out of the building. Drake Maye looked like the quarterback who led them to 14 wins and a Super Bowl berth in the 45-17 win, throwing for 374 yards with four touchdown passes and one touchdown run.
Now sitting at 3-2, they're right back in the race for the division lead. In fact, they could take the lead in the AFC East if the Bills lose on Monday Night Football to the Los Angeles Rams.
Bills enter Week 5 as underdogs
Buffalo hits the road for their showdown against the Rams, flying to Southern California for the primetime game. They enter as slight underdogs, and the majority of the experts believe the Rams will come out on top in this one.
The Bills have the talent to go toe-to-toe with any team in the NFL, but they're also struggling to find their footing right now. They were able to win in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers, but that was an ugly game with five turnovers from the Bills. Three of those were from Josh Allen, who had two interceptions and a lost fumble.
His ball security concerns were on display again in Week 4, with Allen throwing a costly interception on their final offensive play of the game. That allowed New England to run the final 1:05 off the clock, sending them into Week 5 looking for answers on both sides of the ball.
Rams haven't been the elite team we're used to
If there is any good news for the Bills, it's that Los Angeles hasn't been the dominant team we're used to seeing. They head into Monday's game with a record of 2-2, although they had an impressive comeback in Week 4 to knock off the Philadelphia Eagles.
Still, they've shown vulnerability during their first four games of the season and it will be up to Buffalo's coaching staff to ensure they take advantage of that. If they don't, they'll suddenly be tied with the Patriots, who have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
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