Buffalo Bills: Mike Gillislee needs to keep the chains moving

The Buffalo Bills are going for a season sweep of the New England Patriots, and if they are going to do it, they need Mike Gillislee to step up big time.

The Buffalo Bills are in an incredibly rare position:

Beat the Patriots, and be the first team in-division to sweep a season series against them since 2001.

The problem? They are going to try and do it without star running back LeSean McCoy.

McCoy is listed as ‘doubtful’ for this game against the Patriots, and most of the time, being listed as ‘doubtful’ is about as close to a guarantee of not playing as you can get on a final injury report. It’s a long season, and you don’t want to risk McCoy’s health, so the Bills are going to be relying upon Mike Gillislee, a player that has averaged six yards per carry this season in limited (22 carries) work.

Still, on just 25 touches this season, Gillislee has scored three touchdowns for the Buffalo offense that ranks 6th in the NFL in scoring at just under 27 points per game. Could he really be the key to Buffalo beating the New England Patriots?

Absolutely.

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The last time these two teams played, the Patriots were still rolling with Jacoby Brissett, and the Bills shut him both down and out. The Patriots were shut out at home against Rex Ryan’s Bills, and the two teams look a lot different now than they did even just a few weeks ago.

Obviously, Tom Brady is back. With the return of Brady has also come the return of the familiar Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots certainly don’t want the Bills to know the sweet taste of victory against them twice in the same season, but the Bills could key in on their backup running back and try and dominate this game on the ground.

Gillislee has been a valuable backup for the Bills since being drafted in 2013 by the Miami Dolphins in the 5th round out of Florida. He finished last season with just under six yards per carry for an average, and scored three touchdowns.

He’s already matched that total touchdown total this season, and he’ll have to add to it if the Bills are going to beat the Patriots and make some noise in this division.

It seems a foregone conclusion that the Patriots are going to run away with the AFC East, and they very well may, but this would be a great time for Buffalo to make sure that doesn’t happen by handing the Patriots their second loss while also gaining ground in the standings.

Buffalo currently sits at 4-3 and needs this victory to stay afloat in the AFC East.

Mike Gillislee could be key to their ship not sinking.

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