Bills quarterback Josh Allen making sure not to underestimate 1-5 Patriots

The Buffalo Bills have every reason to be confident heading into their Week 7 matchup with the New England Patriots. Not only is their 4-2 record far superior to their division rival’s 1-5, they also enter the game with an active four-game win streak over the Patriots.

Despite all of that, and the Bills’ status as a 9-point road favorites, quarterback Josh Allen is making sure not to underestimate the Patriots.

“It’s no easy task going against the Patriots and Bill Belichick,” Allen told reporters on Wednesday. “We have to understand that. We’re not going to score every time we touch the ball, but going out there and just trying to execute every play and taking it one play at a time.”

Allen struggled earlier in his career against the Patriots, opening with three straight defeats against the long-time AFC East dominators. Over the last three seasons, however, he has led Buffalo to six wins compared to a single loss — including a blowout victory in the 2021 wild card playoffs.

Over that span, the former first-round draft pick has played some impressive football. In those seven games since 2020, Allen has gone 145-of-220 for 1,718 yards with 18 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also has gained 263 yards on 55 rushing attempts and found the end zone once.

No matter the button he pushed the last three seasons, it worked. Simultaneously, the Patriots defense has had a hard time providing much resistance to him and the rest of the Bills offense.

Nonetheless, Allen is well aware of the challenge New England still presents.

“They do a lot of switching up their personnel. A lot of guys that are smart and can play different positions,” he said. “Obviously getting J.C. Jackson back, who was there for a while and played really well in that system. Making sure we’re OK with that. [Josh] Uche’s been rushing the quarterback really well. So, we got to make sure we have a plan for him. But they switch it up and there’s there’s no single thing that you can expect from them to do.

“It seems like every game is a different game plan designed specifically for a different quarterback and a different offense. It’s going to be a feel-out process early on, and we’re going to have our assumptions of what they’re going to do but — to be honest — we’re not sure until we get to the game and see their specific game plan and what they want to do against us.”

Sunday’s game at Gillette Stadium will be the first meeting between the two division foes this year.