FOXBORO — Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said it Sunday before fans had even pulled their cars out of the Gillette Stadium parking lots after watching a blowout win over the Panthers.
Their next game would serve as a true litmus test.
“We have to prepare here for a division opponent on the road. It’s going to be a great environment, and hopefully we’ll see where we’re at,” Vrabel said, already looking ahead.
For now, the Patriots are a 2-2 team who has struggled with consistency, losing Week 1 to a 1-3 Raiders team, winning close against a struggling Dolphins team, keeping it close against the 3-1 Steelers and beating the bricks off of a bad Panthers team.
The Bills are the class of the AFC as the conference’s only undefeated team, however. The Patriots are 7.5-point underdogs but can still prove something on the road, in primetime against a very good opponent.
“It’s a great gauge for us. See what we got,” quarterback Drake Maye said. “We’ll be competing on the road in a tough environment, and one of the first times we’ll do that as a team, and see you go battling through playing four quarters in football. That’s gonna matter. Playing on the road four quarters matters. You can’t just play half. Can’t just show up at the beginning and at the end. Playing full four quarters and going to a hostile environment, and bringing our own energy. We do travel well, so there will be (Patriots fans).
“Just also not taking as a end-all be-all for this week. We got a lot ahead, but this is a great kind of checkpoint to see what we got and what we can handle.”
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who played with the Bills for four seasons, sees Sunday night’s game as a “measuring stick.”
The Patriots were playing their best football of the season in Week 4, when Diggs had his first 100-yard game in a Patriots uniform. The Patriots also could have beaten the Steelers in Week 3 if they hadn’t turned the ball over five times.
“That team has been good year in and year out. Great,” Diggs said of his former squad. “Great fan base has always played a key part. The coaching staff has always done a good job. They always had a sound defense and guys that make plays on offense. Things haven’t changed. I know that team well, so it’s gonna be another test for us.
“Answering the bell is gonna be key for us. But it’s a measuring stick. It’s early on for us just like it is for them. They’ve had some good games. It’s gonna be big for us to be on the details. We can’t leave no stone unturned. Leave no crumbs.”
Starting strong will also be key for the Patriots in an attempt to take what should be a raucous crowd out of the game. The Bills have only turned the ball over once this season, while the Patriots have six giveaways. So, ball security will be key if the Patriots hope to leave Buffalo with an upset.