Bills focus on themselves, not defending their AFC East title that's on the line against New England

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — For Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins, the expectation of winning at New England on Sunday is more important than the motivation to prevent the Patriots from wrenching the AFC East title away from Buffalo.

Of course, Dawkins on Wednesday said “it’s very important” for the Bills (9-4) to stop Drake Maye and the upstart Patriots (11-2) from ending Buffalo’s divisional run of dominance. But the Bills' expectation to win every week isn’t any different.

“We play the game to win. So our goal is to win everything,” Dawkins said.

“But it ain’t about defending the title,” he added, pumping his fist and pretending to shout the final three words in a loud whisper. “We just got to be the best version of ourselves.”

Dawkins’ comments about this weekend's matchup were echoed by numerous teammates and coach Sean McDermott.

With a win, the Patriots would sweep the season series and clinch their first AFC East title since 2019, while relegating Buffalo to chasing a wild-card playoff berth. Even if the Bills win, they would still need help to catch the Patriots over the final three weeks.

“We think we understand as a team what’s at stake. But I don’t think that’s going to influence anything,” Josh Allen said.

“At the same time, (an AFC East title) doesn’t guarantee you anything other than making the playoffs,” the reigning MVP added. “At the end of the day, that’s our main goal. And we have an opportunity to put ourselves in a better position.”

The Bills have little to show for winning five straight division titles. The closest they’ve come to a Super Bowl berth is a pair of losses to Kansas City in the AFC championship game in 2020 and last season.

And yet, should the Bills make the playoffs as a wild card, they’d have to start on the road, where Buffalo has lost six straight postseason games. That run includes three losses under Allen and dates to 1992, when the Bills defeated Miami in the AFC championship before a 52-17 loss to Dallas in the Super Bowl.

After a stretch of four losses in seven games, the Bills have looked better the past two weeks, winning at Pittsburgh and beating Cincinnati at home. McDermott says his team has begun to show its toughness.

“We’re getting there. I think we’re moving in the right direction,” McDermott said. “It’s maybe happened a little bit later than we would have liked, but I really appreciate how the players and the staff have persevered through it all.”

Against Pittsburgh, the Bills finished with a season-high 249 yards rushing while playing without their two starting offensive tackles. Against Cincinnati, Buffalo's injury-depleted defense — top pass rusher Joey Bosa was out — manufactured a blitz that led to cornerback Christian Benford's game-changing interception return for a touchdown.

Receiver Gabe Davis was among the few Bills players willing to address the stakes for this weekend head-on.

“Can we still go to the playoffs if we’re not the AFC East champs?” Davis asked rhetorically.

“Now do I believe that we are going to be AFC East champs? Yeah. I believe that,” he added. “And I believe everyone here still has the goal to be an AFC East champ.”

RT Spencer Brown said he's ready to return after missing two games with a right shoulder injury. Bosa resumed practicing on Wednesday in a limited capacity. TE Dawson Knox missed practice for personal reasons.

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