FanHouse Preview: Bills at Patriots

If you're looking for a white-knuckle, nail-biter of a Monday night game, it might be best to look elsewhere -- like to Oakland, where the Raiders host San Diego late, though that might not be much help either. New England has won 11 straight against Buffalo, including two last year minus Tom Brady, and posted a 20 1/2-point average margin of victory during that win streak. On top of that trend, the Patriots' home crowd will be understandably jacked up to see Brady back on the field, and will do its best to make Terrell Owens' regular-season Buffalo debut a miserable one.

The Bills would love to signal in the T.O. era with a huge road win. But they will need a near-flawless effort to get it done.

Three Key Questions:

1. Is Tom Brady, post-knee injury and with a preseason throwing shoulder nick, healthy?

2. Can Trent Edwards take advantage of Buffalo's talented receivers?

3. How well will Fred Jackson fill in at running back for the suspended Marshawn Lynch?

Players in the Spotlight: Buffalo's secondary. Ok, Brady and Owens are going to be in the television spotlight, but if the Bills have any hope at all of escaping Foxboro with an upset win, their defensive backfield must play huge. It's an underrated group that brings back all four starters from 2008 -- Terrence McGee, Donte Whitner, Leodis McKelvin and Bryan Scott. Both cornerbacks are undersized, though, with McKelvin standing an inch taller, 5-foot-10, than McGee, so slowing Randy Moss will be difficult. If nothing else, Buffalo needs to keep New England to the nickel-and-dime underneath patterns and take away the deep ball.

Buffalo's Path to Victory: All eyes are on Owens and Edwards, but Jackson's the guy who needs to turn in the biggest game for the Bills to hang around. With Lynch out, and Buffalo adopting a no-huddle offense this season, the only chance the Bills have of keeping the Patriots on the sideline for extended periods of time is for Jackson to grind out some yards on the ground. That said, Edwards has to avoid any turnovers at all and hit on a bomb or two. Defensively, it's always difficult to get pressure on Brady, so the Bills need to generate what they can there, but keep the game in front of them -- if New England starts hitting on 20-plus-yard passes right away, it could get ugly.

New England's Path to Victory: New England just needs to do what New England does -- or, rather, what New England did before the Brady-less 2008 season. It could take Brady a little bit to settle back into regular-season game speed, but probably not that long, which mean lots of looks at Moss and Wes Welker. The Patriots have a massive stable of running backs, as well, that all can handle some carries and ease the offensive burden. New England might struggle initially with Buffalo's no-huddle attack, depending on how well the Bills execute it. With Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden at cornerback, New England could be one of the few teams able to play Owens and Josh Reed straight up and let the rest of its defense go to work.

Prediction: Buffalo has an opportunity to show that it's a threat in the AFC East. The problem is that, realistically, the Bills just don't match-up well with New England in any way. It will be fun to see how Owens performs (and behaves) in a new uniform, but don't expect his presence to be enough to pull Buffalo through. New England 31, Buffalo 14