Things have changed. Don’t know for how long. But things have changed.
The Patriots host the Bills Monday night well aware of this season’s reversal of circumstances. The Patriots have won a staggering 35 of 41 games against the Bills during Bill Belichick’s tenure, their most against any opponent. At one point, from December 2003 to September 2011, they won 15 in a row, sweeping the annual two-game series seven straight seasons. They owned the Bills longer than Ralph Wilson did.
As you may have noticed, this season is different. The Bills have a chance to sweep the Patriots for the first time since 1999, when Doug Flutie was the Bills quarterback and Pete Carroll – whom I was certain would never amount to anything more than an annoyingly enthusiastic defensive coordinator after his time in New England – was the Patriots’ head coach.