New England Patriots links 1/06/23 - Week 18 Patriots-Bills: Previews, matchups, keys to victory

TEAM TALK

• Patriots-Bills latest Injury Report.
• Evan Lazar’s Scouting the Bills: A three-step plan for the Patriots to punch their ticket to the playoffs. 1. Putting together a winning formula vs. Bills offense based on what is working.
• Mike Dussault identifies the 10 key players to watch as the Pats head to Buffalo with the playoffs on the line.
• Expert Predictions: Week 18 picks for Patriots at Bills.
• Transcripts: Bill Belichick - Mac Jones.
• Press Pass: Mac Jones - Devin McCourty - David Andrews - Matthew Slater - Matthew Judon - Cameron Achord - Bill Belichick.
• Belestrator: Defending against Bills QB Josh Allen. (2.33 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered on TV: Dolphins recap, Bills preview, McCourty 1-on-1. (22 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Murph (E2GSports) Monster keys to Patriots Bills, Part II. 1. Get up quick defense. ‘I hear you all thinking it, it’s a superpower of mine. Yes the defense needs to set the tone early.’
• Mike Kadlick’s Patriots vs. Bills Week 18 preview: Players to watch, game prediction; More.
• Mark Morse (PatsFans) Week 18 Patriots at Bills preview; Reaction to Damar Hamlin.
• Andrew Callahan spotlights the Patriots preparing for an unprecedented challenge in their season finale.
• Karen Guregian talks about how combating emotions will be a tall order for Patriots in Buffalo Sunday.
• Khari Thompson finds the Bills and Patriots preparing for emotional slugfest on Sunday.
• Phil Perry questions whether the Patriots can summon enough intensity while feeling sympathy for Bills.
• Justin Leger relays Tom E. Curran, Phil Perry, and Matt Cassel discussing how Bill Belichick will prepare the Patriots to get in the right mindset to play the Bills.
• Kevin Tame, Jr. (Patriots Country) Mac Jones finally getting ball in hands of rookie weapon Tyquan Thornton.
• Mike Fisher (Patriots Country) Patriots at Bills: Damar Hamlin question a ‘competitive’ inspiration to Mac Jones.
• Mike D’Abate (Patriots Country) Bill Belichick on Damar Hamlin injury: ‘Life’s bigger than this game’.
• Khari Thompson reports Bill Belichick recalls ‘chilling’ injury to Reggie Brown in remarks about Damar Hamlin.
• Mark Daniels relays Mac Jones and several other Patriots on preparing for the Bills while rooting for Damar Hamlin.
• Alex Barth notes three players were added to Thursday’s injury report.
• Kevin Tame, Jr. (Patriots Country) A look at Roger Goodell’s competitive equity recommendation to be voted on, and the Week 18 playoff scenarios affecting the Patriots.
• Chris Mason’s Patriots Mailbag: Mac Jones, draft needs, Tom Brady, and keys to beating Buffalo.
• Alex Reimer highlights Mike Giardi identifying the biggest mistake the Pats made with Mac Jones this season. “The Patriots took away Jones’ best asset when they simplified the playbook: his brain. The result has been a quarterback playing in an offense that doesn’t compliment his skill set.”
• Matt Johnson (SportsNaut) How the New England Patriots coaching staff on offense can be rebuilt in 2023.
• Matt Vautour gives us MassLive’s NFL best bets and Patriots-Bills picks against the spread for Week 18.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Marcus Jones back at practice for Patriots.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Owners will convene on Friday regarding AFC playoff seeding.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Proposed AFC seeding plan raises important issues about rule changes, precedent.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) NFL’s proposed approach to cancellation of Bills-Bengals conflicts with 2022 policy manual.
• Around the NFL (NFL.com) Proposed AFC playoff contingencies: What you need to know.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Coin toss could determine location of Bengals-Ravens playoff game.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Neutral site not yet determined, could be outdoors or indoors.
• Jason Marcum (CincyJungle) Bengals-Bills reportedly declared no-contest, which means Cincy wins AFC North.
• MMQB Staff (SI) Week 18 playoff-clinching scenarios, coach firings and No. 1 pick predictions.
• Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports) NFL Week 18 by the numbers: Player and team accomplishments to watch entering last week of 2022 regular season
• Tyler Sullivan (CBS Sports) Five bold predictions for NFL Week 18.
• Matt Johnson (SportsNaut) 2023 NFL defense rankings: Week 18 outlook. No. 3 Patriots: Bill Belichick’s defensive game plan still held Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill to a combined 107 receiving yards on 12 targets. Considering how banged-up New England’s secondary is, it softens the worry about matchups against No. 1 receivers. Let’s see what Belichick has in store for Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen in Week 18.
• Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports) NFL free agency 2023: Early look at top 50 free agents.
• Jordan Dajani (CBS Sports) 10 crazy NFL offseason predictions: Tom Brady jumps ship, Jim Harbaugh returns and Commanders get new owners.
• Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) NFL Week 18 picks. Bills win 33-21.
• Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) Week 18 NFL game picks. Bills win 24-13.
• Jordan Dajani (CBS Sports) NFL Week 18 picks, best bets: Bills cover, win 28-17 in emotional matchup vs. Patriots.
• MMQB Staff (SI) NFL Week 18 picks. All five pick Bills to win.
• Sheil Kapadia (The Ringer) Week 18 NFL picks against the spread. The last three times these two teams have faced off, the Bills have won by 14, 30, and 12 points. The pick: Bills (-7)
• Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports) NFL picks against the spread. I’ll just take the Patriots (+7.5), who need to win to get in the playoffs and should keep it close.

VIEW FROM BUFFALO

• Sal Maiorana (Democrat and Chronicle) A game with playoff implications up next for heavy-hearted Buffalo Bills: What to know. The only thing at stake for the Bills is the chance to get homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, and that is no small intangible. The Bills have never won a road playoff game under Sean McDermott (0-4), so staying home, while not guaranteeing anything, would certainly be preferred.
• AubergerR (BuffaloRumblings) Bills-Patriots injury trends looking good for Buffalo.
• Nick Wojton (BillsWire) Bills signed safety Jared Mayden from Jets practice squad.
• Nick Wojton (BillsWire) Damar Hamlin’s breathing tube removed, Bills DB has spoken to teammates.
• Ryan Miller (Democrat and Chronicle) Bills-Bengals game canceled by NFL; AFC Championship game could be at neutral site.
• Chris Baker (NewYorkUpstate) NFL explains why it decided not to reschedule canceled Bills-Bengals game.