Bill Belichick: The Bills defense’s ability to create turnovers is a concern for the Patriots

The New England Patriots will play their second divisional game of the season tonight, when they take on the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park. And while Buffalo has had its struggles so far this season – especially when it comes to the offensive side of the football – the team still has the ability to make life hard for the Patriots due to a defense that is better than its statistical rankings suggest.

In the latest episode of the Belestrator, head coach Bill Belichick and Scott Zolak take a look at how exactly the Bills defense disrupts teams and what the Patriots need to do to stay on top:

“They have a lot of very disruptive players on defense,” Belichick says during the clip. “Some of our old friends like Kyle Williams and Jerry Hughes, and some new ones like [Tremaine] Edmunds, their number one draft choice from Virigina Tech, [Matt] Milano in his second year.” The future Hall of Famer then focuses on what some of Buffalo’s front-seven players individually and the defense as a whole do well.

“They do a great job, probably as good as anybody we play, of stripping the ball out or just having good ball awareness,” Belichick points out. “No matter who has it – quarterback, running back, receiver, tight end – they do a really good job putting pressure on the ball.” Belichick and Zolak take a look at two players in particular when it comes to forcing the ball carriers into mistakes: Kyle Williams and Tremaine Edmunds.

“Kyle Williams, he’s a thorn in everybody’s side,” Belichick says about the veteran defensive tackle. Despite being 35 years old, the defensive tackle is still among the most productive interior pass rushers in the NFL. On the other end of the age spectrum is 20-year old first-round rookie Edmunds. “Really this is the Luke Kuechly of the Buffalo defense.”

Overall, Belichick notes that turnovers are a point of emphasis for his team – one that has already turned the football over 13 times this season – today: “The turnovers that Buffalo’s defense creates are a big concern for us.”