New England Patriots Shouldn't Take the Buffalo Bills Lightly in NFL Week 3

Fifteen straight wins for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick over the Buffalo Bills would make you think that every meeting with the AFC East division rival is a welcome occurrence.

As in, it would make you think that the Bills have been a "welcome" mat for the Patriots to walk all over.

Anyone who has watched the games knows that this isn't the case. In fact, the streak should have ended several times over the past few years especially. The Bills have a tendency to hang around in these games, but they make one or two key mistakes late in the game where the Patriots capitalize (as they usually do).

Does anyone remember their Week 1 meeting in 2009? Brady's first game back after reconstructive knee surgery was nearly unsuccessful, and the quarterback had to lead two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to eke out a one-point victory.

Leodis McKelvin gets the assist for his fourth-quarter fumble on a kickoff return. The Patriots were set up with perfect field position and took advantage. 

Just last year, the Bills battled to an eight-point loss in a back-and-forth game. As was the case many times last year, the Patriots simply waited for the Bills to make mistakes, and they were gifted by two fourth-quarter interceptions from Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Once again, the assist goes to a player in a Bills uniform who gave the Patriots every opportunity to win the game.

If there was ever a year for those trends to come to an end, though, this is it. The Bills have done little to give the game away in the first two weeks of the season, taking good care of the ball and turning it over just two times through two games after turning it over 39 times in the 2010 season.

And though Brady has been a fantasy football steamroller in the first two weeks of the season, there's been another signal caller from the northeast making waves.

For all of Brady's statistical greatness in the first two games of the season, Harvard graduate Fitzpatrick is his equal in two categories: touchdowns (seven) and interceptions (one). Sure, the difference in yards per attempt is astronomical (10.7 for Brady, 6.6 for Fitzpatrick), but the constant between the two is ball security.

The Bills' best chance is a game plan similar to the one employed by the Jets against the Patriots in the playoffs. As long as Fitzpatrick isn't making the game-changing mistakes, the Bills could pose a challenge to the Patriots the likes of which they haven't posed in 15 games.

That being said, the Patriots have done a good job of confusing the Ivy Leaguer in the past, forcing him into five interceptions in their two meetings last year. Belichick will have to have a similar game plan up his cutoff sleeves to pull this one out of the hoodie. 

What's more, the Bills pass defense, which was once atrocious, is starting off the season on a strong note as well. It is a top-10 pass defense in defensive passer rating, a stat tracked by Cold, Hard Football Facts.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @erikfrenz.