Patriots Country

Patriots Suffer Key Defensive Loss Against Bills

The New England Patriots have suffered a key defensive loss against the Buffalo Bills.

Evan Massey

Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers (5) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers (5) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The New England Patriots are set to take on the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 NFL action this afternoon.

Unfortunately, the Patriots will end up having to play without a key defensive star.

According to the inactives list released by the team, New England will be without starting safety Jabrill Peppers this afternoon. He had been listed as questionable all week due to a hamstring issue.

Along with Peppers, the Patriots will be without quarterback Joe Milton III, cornerback Marcus Jones, running back JaMycal Hasty, guard Tyrese Robinson, and guard Lecitus Smith.

Peppers would have been a key player against a Bills' offense that has been playing at an insanely high level. Josh Allen and company have been nearly impossible to stop this season.

Heading into this game, New England is viewed as a massive underdog. If they can make the competitive, tht would be a big morale booster for the Patriots.

New England holds a 3-11 record ahead of this matchup. They appear to be headed for a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Losing is not the worst thing in the world for the future of the franchise at this point in time.

One major source of entertainment for Patriots fans today will be seeing rookie quarterback Drake Maye face off against Allen. While Allen is currently viewed as the MVP front-runner, Maye has become one of the top up-and-coming young quarterbacks in the NFL.

Hopefully, New England can make this game interesting. They aren't likely to pull off a win, but simply giving Buffalo a scare would be a major step forward for the Patriots.

All of that being said, the game is set to kick off at 4:25 p.m. EST on CBS. Make sure to tune in to see if New England can make a game out of it.

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Evan Massey
EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.

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