Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - It was another slow start for the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday, and it came back to haunt them in their Week 7 loss to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The Bills offense was doomed from the start when quarterback Josh Allen threw an interception on his very first throw of the game by Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers. While Allen finished his day with two touchdown passes, another on the ground, and a completion rate of 65.9%, it wasn't enough to overcome a 29-25 loss.
Against a, then, 1-5 Patriots squad, it was a shocking to see the Bills unable to get out of their own way for the entire game. The offense had no sense of rhythm or consistency, and the defense couldn't slow down a New England offense that ranks as one of the worst units in the entire league.
After having just taken the lead with 1:58 remaining on the clock, the Bills could not stop New England from marching right back down the field and into scoring position. Then with 12 seconds remaining, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was able to find tight end Mike Gesicki in the end zone to give his team the lead and the win.
This loss comes after the Bills won a very sloppy game against the New York Giants the week before, and another slow start from the team in London, England against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bills really needed a strong team win, especially in an all-important divisional matchup, but came up just short once again.
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With their third loss of the year, the Bills find themselves in a short week, as they prepare to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on "Thursday Night Football" at Highmark Stadium.
The Buccaneers have gotten off to an iffy start to their 2023 season with a 3-3 record, but have had issues of their own with offensive and defensive consistency. In addition, injuries have hampered their efforts in recent weeks, with quarterback Baker Mayfield potentially the next one affected due to a knee injury.
Tampa Bay is also coming off a Week 7 loss this past Sunday to the Atlanta Falcons, as kicker Younghoe Koo nailed a game-winning field goal kick as the clock expired to down the Buccaneers, 16-13.
Heading into Thursday night's showdown, the Buccaneers find themselves at 3-3 and in second place in the NFC South behind the Falcons.
In the two weeks leading up to this point, Howard Simon has been much more reserved in his picks, but that all changes now following this past Sunday's hideous loss in Foxborough.
Most of the games remaining on the schedule come against very skilled opponents such as the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. Given that fact, he's very worried about their ability to keep pace with some of the better teams in the league right now.
While Howard is confident the Bills can down the visiting Buccaneers this Thursday night in front of the home faithful, Howard is feeling quite lowly about the rest of the way, as he has Buffalo finishing with a 9-8 record.
Those type of results would certainly take them out of the running for a fourth-straight AFC East title, but could also take them out of the AFC Playoff picture entirely.
Be sure to follow along on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on X: @BraytonJWilson.
You can listen to, and watch the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" available below: