Patriots vs. Bills: What Are Experts Saying About Buffalo?

The Buffalo Bills officially have their new owner. The NFL owners unanimously approved Terry and Kim Pegula as the new bosses of the Bills, so the Pegula era will begin Sunday when the New England Patriots come to Ralph Wilson Stadium for a battle of 3-2 teams.

As you're probably aware, this is a pretty big game for the Bills. It's the first game under new ownership, and the winner will take sole possession of first place in the AFC East. For the Bills to break their playoff drought, they will have to topple New England, the giants of the division. Sunday will be a great opportunity to keep moving in that direction.

So what can we expect from each team Sunday? Let's take a look at what some of the national experts are saying about this game. We'll look at analysis from a variety of football writers and break down their thoughts with some of our own impressions of how this game might play out.

Tedy Bruschi: Bills Defense 'One of the Best'

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Former Patriot Tedy Bruschi is a Super Bowl-winning linebacker. He knows a good defense when he sees one, and he had some high praise for the Bills defense in his ESPN.com preview of Sunday's game.

Bruschi has the Bills D ranked No. 3 overall, as it is seventh in turnovers created, first in third-down performance and fifth in points per game. Bruschi and Mike Reiss, who co-authored the piece, mentioned all of the Bills defensive linemen by name and said they will provide a "big test" for the interior of the Patriots offensive line.

This could ultimately end up being the difference in the game. The Patriots need to keep Tom Brady's jersey clean, and if they don't they could be in for a long day. If the Bills can get pressure on Brady and force some errant throws, it will make things much easier on the Bills offense.

All it will take is one play. It could be one sack, a deflected pass or just a big hit on Brady. The crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium is going to be all sorts of hyped to begin the Terry Pegula era, and they'd like nothing more than to start off with a win over the Patriots. If the defense gets the crowd into the game early, the Patriots will have a very tough time moving the ball.

Andy Benoit: 2-Tight End Sets Can Hurt Bills

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Over at the MMQB, Andy Benoit outlined the trouble the Bills could have when both Rob Gronkowski and Tim Wright are on the field for the Patriots.

Benoit said defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will have to "ponder his personnel" when the Patriots use the two-tight end formations. Benoit went over the pros and cons of using either the base 4-3 package or a nickel look on defense. 

The drawback, Benoit said, from taking a linebacker off the field is the Patriots' run game. Per Benoit, the Patriots had six carries for 64 yards when Wright was on the field against the Bengals, and the Bills may not be equipped to stop the run with only two linebackers.

But Benoit may be underestimating the Bills defensive line. Marcell Dareus is still getting better (a scary thought), and if Kyle Williams is back the duo can cause problems in the run game. Even if Williams sits out again, Stefan Charles showed against the Detroit Lions he is a viable substitute.

Either way, Benoit is right about the problems the tight ends can cause for the Bills. They had trouble in Week 1 with Martellus Bennett, and he was the third option after Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. Tom Brady loves to use his tight ends, so the Bills need to find a way to slow down Gronkowski and Wright.

Pete Prisco: 'No Way in Heck' Orton Beats Brady

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Luckily for the Bills, the matchup isn't as simple as Tom Brady against Kyle Orton. But in their preview of this game for CBS Sports, both Pete Prisco and Pat Kirwan picked the Patriots.

But Orton went on the road last week and led the Bills to victory over the Lions. Now he will be at home with an excited crowd behind him. Heading into last week, Orton hadn't played since Week 17 of last year with the Dallas Cowboys. He signed with the Bills late this offseason and missed all of training camp.

Naturally, there was some rust with Orton early on. But he overcame an early pick-six and did just enough to put the Bills in position to win. As Orton gets more reps in practice and familiarizes himself with his receivers, his comfort level should only grow.

Kirwan also said at one point he doesn't think the Bills "have the firepower" to keep up with Brady and the Patriots. But the Bills have plenty of playmakers, perhaps even more so than the Patriots. Besides Rob Gronkowski, who from the Patriots' skill players would you rather have over Sammy Watkins, Fred Jackson and the rest of the Bills offensive weapons?

This game is going to be more about the defense than the offense. The Bills defense has been in a groove early on. If the team can get some players (Kyle Williams, Nigel Bradham) back from injury, it will have a good opportunity to stay in first place in the AFC East.

Jerome Bettis: 'I Don't Think They Respond Well' in Big Games

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In their predictions for ESPN, both Mark Schlereth and Jerome Bettis picked the Patriots to leave Orchard Park with a win. Bettis in particular didn't think the Bills would be up for this game, saying he doesn't think they "respond well" to big games.

But these aren't the same Bills that were around when Bettis was playing. The Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins was also a big game for the Bills. Both teams were 1-0, and the Dolphins were coming off a win against these same Patriots. During that week, the Ralph Wilson trust had accepted Terry Pegula's bid to buy the team.

The crowd at the Ralph was raucous, and the Bills ran the Dolphins off the field.

Sure, the Dolphins and Patriots have kind of gone in different directions since the first few weeks of the season. But these Bills get up for big games. Pegula is now officially the owner of the team. And the Bills can take hold of the division, so the crowd will likely be even more juiced up.

And there are a few Bills employees who will have extra motivation to win this game. Both linebacker Brandon Spikes and defensive line coach Pepper Johnson came to Buffalo from New England this offseason. Spikes (a team captain, by the way) wasn't happy with how his tenure ended in New England, so you can bet he will want to stick it to his old team.

In addition, Spikes and Johnson are intimately familiar with the Patriots' tendencies. Any inside information they have can certainly give the Bills an advantage. Win or lose, it's hard to imagine the Bills won't be ready for this game.

Mike Reiss on Watkins vs. Revis

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In their back-and-forth preview, ESPN reporters Mike Rodak (Bills) and Mike Reiss (Patriots) covered a variety of topics. But the one that stood out was what Reiss had to say about Darrelle Revis.

Earlier this week, Matthew Fairburn of Syracuse.com reported the Bills "found out" Sammy Watkins will be taking a trip to Revis Island this week.

"We actually found out that he’s gonna be following me around the field," Watkins told Fairburn. "So I’m gonna have to be prepared for his jams. He's very smart. I have to be very competitive and aggressive off the ball."

When Rodak asked Reiss about the matchup, Reiss said the talented corner performed well against Greg Jennings and A.J. Green over the last two weeks. However, Reiss also said "some maybe have been surprised that a few footballs have been caught against him."

This will be an all-new challenge for Revis because he has never faced Watkins before. It would be foolish, however, for the Bills to rely on just Watkins in the passing game. If he's able to get open, then sure, sling it to him. We know he can make tough catches. But Kyle Orton needs to get other players involved as well.

How the Bills learned Revis will shadow Watkins is unclear, and there's always the chance New England defends Watkins differently. But Watkins has been a terror for opposing defenses already, so it's safe to assume the Patriots will put their best defender on him.

If they do, it will be on Robert Woods, Mike Williams and Marquise Goodwin to step up and make plays. Williams and Revis were teammates in Tampa Bay, so maybe he will have some insight on how to beat Revis. Either way, the Bills will need a team effort on offense to leave The Ralph with a win.