Losing on purpose isn’t the plan for the New England Patriots as they prepare to face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.
While New England (3-13) officially would secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft if it falls to Buffalo in the regular-season finale, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said he wants his team to end the campaign on a high note.
“My message to the guys was we want to finish off the season strong and try to build some momentum going into the offseason,” Mayo said. “I would say the guys are ready to go. … I’ve never been a part of a team, as a player or as a coach, going into a game not wanting to win.
“It’s not going to change today, so that’s my message to the team.”
Playing to win means the Patriots plan to stick with rookie Drake Maye under center. The third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft is dealing with a right hand injury, with the possibility that fellow rookie Joe Milton III sees some playing time.
“If he’s healthy and ready to go, as we go through this week of practice, then he’ll play,” Mayo said of Maye, who was a limited participant during practice on Wednesday and Thursday.
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt reiterated on Thursday that Maye is looking good at practice and said, “He’s starting the game, for sure.”
Van Pelt said the plan is for Maye to play the entire game, though Milton is seeing some first-team reps this week.
The Bills (13-3) helped push New England toward the top pick by recording a 24-21 win over the Patriots in Week 16. The situation got worse for New England in a 40-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last Saturday, the Patriots’ sixth straight defeat.
Maye finished with only 117 yards and one touchdown on 12-of-22 passing against Los Angeles, which held New England to 181 yards of total offense and 11 first downs.
Buffalo, on the other hand, ended up on the right side of a blowout, dismantling the New York Jets 40-14 last Sunday. Josh Allen completed 16 of 27 passes for 182 yards and two TDs and also found the end zone once on the ground, and the Bills’ defense didn’t let New York score until 6:59 remained in the game.
Getting past the Jets allowed Buffalo to clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC, giving Bills coach Sean McDermott a chance to experiment on Sunday.
“What we’re going to do is you’ll see some starters out there playing, and you’ll see some other players who we want to take a good look at,” McDermott said. “So it’ll be a blend of both.”
Allen will start but will have a short leash, according to McDermott.
Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard (quadriceps) already has been ruled out for Sunday but was a limited practice participant on Thursday.
Wide receiver Curtis Samuel (rib), defensive back Cam Lewis (shoulder) and safeties Damar Hamlin (ribs) and Taylor Rapp (neck) were also limited on Thursday. Wide receiver Amari Cooper (back) was added to the injury report on Thursday but was a full participant.
Maye headed a list of limited participants at practice Thursday for the Partriots. He was joined by nine players, including safety Kyle Dugger (ankle/quadricep), tight end Hunter Henry (foot) and linebacker Anfernee Jennings (knee). Cornerback Christian Gonzalez (concussion), center Ben Brown (concussion) and wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk (shoulder) were held out of practice. Wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was a full participant after missing practice on Wednesday due to illness.
–Field Level Media
