Bills head coach Sean McDermott is already throwing verbal bouquets at the Patriots defense, but Buffalo left tackle Dion Dawkins is taking another approach.
Despite New England's D allowing a grand total of six points over the last four games dating back to the Super Bowl, Dawkins isn't crowning them just yet, to borrow a phrase from Dennis Green's infamous rant.
"We don’t care what they’ve done the games before because they haven’t played us yet,” Dawkins said Wednesday after practice, via NYup.com. “Once they play us and if it doesn’t change then that’s when y'all could start talking... You guys have seen Josh (Allen), our coaches, really all of us, we’re just on a different mission. We have something going and I don’t really care who it is (that we play)."
Both teams enter Sunday's showdown with a 3-0 record, but the Patriots also have another not-so-secret weapon at their disposal beyond their dominating defense: Tom Brady.
The Patriots quarterback has an astonishing 30-3 record against Buffalo, and his 15 career wins at New Era Field are more than any other quarterback since 2001 — including Buffalo QBs. But while Dawkins respects Brady, he's going with his own guy.
“I love 12 (Brady) and I respect his game and (him as a) player, but I got Josh Allen,” Dawkins said. “That’s really all I’m worried about is keeping that kid clean and doing whaever I need to do during this week to make myself better so I can let that kid play as free and fluent as he needs to.”
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Allen has been playing much better in 2019 compared to his rookie season — upping his QB rating from a miserable 67.9 to a mediocre 83.4 — but he remains a threat on the ground, as Bill Belichick explained Wednesday.
But both Allen and Dawkins will need to be at their best Sunday to take down a Patriots team that's won 33 of the last 38 meetings against the Bills.
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