New England’s Last Stand: Patriots Seek to End Season on a High Note Against AFC East Rivals

The New England Patriots are heading into their season finale against the Buffalo Bills with nothing to gain in the standings, but possibly with plenty to lose in terms of offseason capital.

At 3-13, the team of head coach Jerod Mayo currently holds the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL Draft. For a team looking for upgrades across the board, that selection would be a valuable asset to either add much-needed blue-chip talent or accumulate further picks through a trade down the board.

However, at least publicly, the Patriots will not have an eye on their draft pick come Sunday’s game against Buffalo. Instead, as Mayo put it, he wants to see his team finish an underwhelming season 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,” he said during a press conference on Wednesday.

“Obviously, I’m sure the question will come up, ‘Do you want to see certain players?’ Absolutely. I would say if players are healthy, they’ll be ready to go. As far as how much they play, how much they don’t, 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.”

The Patriots are entering Week 18 as one of four three-win teams. In addition, five other clubs currently have four victories under their belts. New England would not drop past all of them in case of a win over the Bills, but possibly slide all the way to No. 5.

The difference between those selections is significant, even in a draft without top-tier quarterback talent or a sure-fire prospect to go No. 1 (like Caleb Williams last year). Per the Rich Hill draft value chart, the top selection is worth 1,000 points compared to just 468 for the fifth.

Those calculations will not be on the team’s mind once kickoff rolls around, though.

“It’s all about finishing strong,” said defensive tackle Davon Godchaux. “Buffalo, no matter who they play, our job is to win. You can’t ask professional athletes to go out there and not play hard, because that’s how you end up getting hurt. Our job is to go out there and win the football game no matter who plays. That’s the mindset we’re going to approach on Sunday.”

Tight end and team captain Hunter Henry shared a similar message from the podium on Wednesday.

“We’re going to attack this week just like any other week, and I think a lot of guys are excited for the opportunity ahead,” he said.

Among those players is quarterback Drake Maye. The rookie, who is entering the final week of the regular season with 11 starts on his résumé, is likely to start game No. 12 on Sunday even though he popped up on the injury report with a hand ailment.

Maye is preparing as if he would start the game, and also trying to end the year with a positive performance.

“I’m excited to get another chance to play an opponent we know,” he said. “We played them here just recently. One last time with this team. This team, we’ll never be together. Same team, same guys, same squad going out there one more time at home, so looking forward to getting another chance at these guys, looking forward to getting a chance to fight a good opponent.”

While the Patriots’ personnel usage remains somewhat of a mystery as of Thursday morning, the Bills have been more transparent: they will only use quarterback Josh Allen sparingly to keep his consecutive starts streak alive, and mix starters and backups throughout the contest.

Given the circumstances, New England doing the same would make sense. Whether or not that results in a victory will be seen, and something the rest of the NFL will keep a close eye on as well given what’s on the line.