The quarterback of the Buffalo Bills is working on another MVP-level performance, and the team is getting healthy. Furthermore, here are bold predictions for the Bills' crucial Week 15 clash against the Patriots.
The AFC East title is on the line as the Bills enter with a record of 9-4. The Patriots (11-2) can wrap things up with a victory.
However, the Patriots must deal with Josh Allen to accomplish that goal.
Bills QB Josh Allen will cut loose for 350 total yards
Win or lose, look for Allen to step up to the task. He totaled 306 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting. And he will be locked and loaded for a bear of a game this time around.
Why? Just ask Khalil Shakir what Allen is capable of doing, according to Fox Sports.
“In those scramble-play moments, being a skill player on the field just to make yourself available for him as much as you can,” Shakir said. “He’s the best player in the entire league and has the ability to make these insane plays literally whenever he wants to. Knowing that he trusts us to make those catches, I think, gives him comfort in making that type of throw.”
Shakir mentioned a recent play that showed off Allen’s skill.
“I had a shallow route and then tried to run to the sideline, and it got blocked off, so I just started running up the field,” Shakir said. “Then, I’m looking around. And there’s all these white jerseys around me. And I turn, and the ball’s right there.
“The fact that Josh has the ability to put the ball wherever he wants to because he is that good it’s insane. So, like I’ve said 1,000 times, it’s an honor to share the field with him. He’s amazing.”
The Bills know this is the last chance to run down the Patriots. And Allen will deliver.
Bills RB James Cook will total 75-plus yards and a score
The 75-plus could be higher, depending on how the Bills use him in the passing game. A splash play through the air should put him in the 100-yard territory.
Of course, he needs to hang on to the football. In the Bills' last two games, Cook has fumbled four times. For the year, he has lost six of them, the most in the NFL among running backs.
Allen said nobody needs to bring it up to Cook, according to democratandchronicle.com.
“No, he understands,” Allen said. “I could have helped him out and not pumped the dart, and just given it to him right away. So I can take some blame in that.”
The conundrum in this: The Bills can’t win everything they want to win without Allen. But that same thing is true for Cook.
So it’s not like head coach Sean McDermott can bench Cool for fumbling. Cook can deliver a game-changing play just the same as he can cough up a crucial fumble. So the Bills have to take the good with the bad.
TE Dalton Kincaid will have 50-plus yards and a score
Allen will look for Kincaid for big plays against the Patriots. And Kincaid seems to be healthy enough to take care of the receiving end of things.
Kincaid is one of the best tight end starts from a fantasy perspective this week, according to Sports Illustrated.
“Kincaid is back healthy and should be working into his usual workload,” Thomas Carelli wrote. “Kincaid has (4.6) Targets per Game — 3rd on the team. Kincaid is the most explosive tight end among active players at the position with 14.8 yards per reception. He also leads all Bills pass-catchers with five touchdowns this year.
“The Patriots are moderately 17th versus the tight end. Kincaid is adding (0.67) red zone targets per Game. The Bills target the tight end at a 28% rate in the red zone.”
But the big bold prediction that many people are concerned about is this: Who will win? The Patriots probably feel disrespected because of the Bills being a road favorite. That’s the case even though the Patriots won at Buffalo earlier this year.
This should be one of those games that goes back and forth, changing leads. And look for the winning score to come in the final minute. Of course, that type of scenario favors the dynamic Allen.
But we’ll go with Vegas on this one. Prediction: Bills 31, Patriots 27.
