Offensive Line Play Will Make Or Break New England Patriots In Week 6

By Will Gellman @Will_Gellman on October 7, 2014

Much has been made of the New England Patriots‘ struggles so far this season. They haven’t looked great in run defense, lack reliable receivers outside of Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman and their offensive line has been completely hit or miss. It is the latter issue, however, that must be remedied before the Patriots take the field Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills have a dominant pass rush — perhaps the best unit the Patriots have and will face all year. Between Kyle Williams, Jerry Hughes, Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus (the latter two have 8.5 sacks combined), their defensive line has the potential to get to the quarterback on virtually every play.

With that in mind, the Patriots’ offensive line will certainly have their work cut out for them this week. Center Brian Stork has looked good, but the Bills have phenomenal pass rushers on the interior of their defensive line in particular. The rookie will have to step his game up to avoid being manhandled by Dareus and company. The same goes for the rest of the offensive line as well.

The Patriots have the potential to win this game on Sunday going away, but if Tom Brady is taking too many shots for the majority of the game, the final result won’t be pretty for the Pats in Week 6. As we have seen against both the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs so far this year, when the Patriots’ offensive line breaks down, so does the rest of the team and they ultimately lose.

Protecting Brady is always vital, but this week it holds even more weight against the Bills. A road game against a division rival with weapons on both sides of the ball could spell trouble for the Patriots, especially if Brady is under constant duress the entire game.

Will Gellman is a New England Patriots writer for www.RantSports.com.  Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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