FOXBOROUGH Kyle Williams Jerseys Stitched , Mass. (AP) — For the better part of two decades, the second meeting of the regular season between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots has had only mild drama attached to it.That won’t be the case for Sunday’s matchup.New England (11-3) wrapped up its ninth consecutive AFC East title with last week’s win over Pittsburgh. It can lock up a first-round bye this week with a victory over the Bills, combined with a loss by either Pittsburgh or Jacksonville.If the Patriots win and the Steelers and Jaguars both lose, New England will secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.Meanwhile, the Bills (8-6) are still alive in their quest to break a 17-year playoff drought, and would not be eliminated from contention even with a loss to the Patriots.Buffalo’s postseason absence is the longest active streak in North America’s four major professional sports. In NFL terms, Buffalo is tied for having the fifth-longest drought, and the longest since the NFL merger in 1970.“Of course, the big picture’s there, but you can’t move too far ahead,” said Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who was Joe Flacco’s backup for the Baltimore Ravens’ 2013 Super Bowl win. “It’s definitely tough, but one thing about it is you can’t necessarily worry about what other teams are doing.”There is also the subplot of this being the first time the teams have met since Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski’s late, gratuitous hit on Bills defensive back Tre’Davious White late in New England’s 23-3 win at Buffalo Dec. 3.White was lying face down on the sideline after intercepting Tom Brady’s fourth-quarter pass attempt to Gronkowski. Gronk — upset about a flag not being called on White for pushing off — dived into him, driving his forearm into White’s back and head. Gronkowski was called for unnecessary roughness Youth Doug Flutie Jerseys , but not kicked out of the game.Afterward, Patriots coach Bill Belichick apologized to Buffalo coach Sean McDermott . Gronkowski also apologized, saying he let his frustration get the better of him.In the days that followed, White condemned Gronk as “a dirty player.” But he said this week that he has moved on .“It’s just getting over it,” White said. “It was still lingering on me. But as I got a chance to think about it, that was childish. I got over it and I’m past it. I’m focused on winning.”Safety Devin McCourty said he is expecting a playoff atmosphere, but not because of any bad blood.“I don’t think either team is going to need what happened last game to get them going,” McCourty said. “Two teams trying to win a football game at the end of the season is going to be chippy. It’s going to be everything from pushing and shoving to fighting for extra yards. You’re going to get all of that Sunday.”Here are some things to watch for when the Bills and patriots square off again:ONE-MAN SHOW: Most of the Bills’ success this season has come via the legs of running back LeSean McCoy.He leads the Bills with 1,057 yards rushing and six touchdowns. He also has two TD catches. In all, he has accounted for eight of the 26 touchdowns scored by the Bills’ offense. His 1,407 yards from scrimmage (including 350 receiving) make up 33 percent of the net yards of offense Buffalo has produced.McCoy has eclipsed 100 yards rushing four times this season. Buffalo is 3-1 in those games. New England has allowed a 100-yard rusher only four times and is 2-2 in those contests.DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES: While McCoy has been the catalyst offensively when Buffalo has had success this season, Buffalo’s defense has mostly struggled with stopping the run.It has allowed 140 or more yards rushing six times and given up a league-worst 19 of its 32 touchdowns on the ground. That included two against New England and six in a 47-10 loss to New Orleans on Nov. 12.By contrast, the Bills have allowed a league-low 11 touchdowns passing, and two or more in one game just twice this season (three in 30-27 win over Tampa Bay and two in 54-24 loss to the Chargers).TOM TERRIFIC: The Patriots have won four of the last five meetings with the Bills, but Buffalo has taken two of the last three games in Foxborough.Brady was serving his four-game “Deflategate” suspension during Buffalo’s 16-0 win at Gillette Stadium last season. But the 40-year-old QB has a 27-3 regular-season record against the Bills Doug Flutie Jerseys Stitched , his highest win total over any opponent. He has also thrown for more touchdowns (66) against the Bills than any other opponent.——AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Orchard Park, New York, contributed to this report.—— ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP)Bills defensive end Lorenzo Alexander is ready to give rookie first-round pick Josh Allen the benefit of the doubt based on how apologetic the former Wyoming quarterback has been acknowledging a series of racially insensitive tweets he posted while still in high school.Alexander, a respected team leader, expects his teammates to do the same and provide Allen a fair opportunity to clear the air.”He has shown maturity to own it. He wrote those words. He’s not using a cop-out,” Alexander said Friday.”I think the biggest thing now is to earn the respect of his teammates by the way he comes in and works. And when guys ask him, just being open and honest about it,” he added. ”And I think most guys will accept his answer based on who he is.”Allen agreed when informed of Alexander’s comments, and is eagerly awaiting the opportunity.Twice repeating the phrase ”as soon as possible,” Allen called it important to apologize for what he posted and show Bills players who he is today.”It’s something that I wouldn’t be afraid or ashamed of doing,” he said upon arriving at the team’s facility a day after Buffalo traded up five spots in the NFL draft order to select Allen with the seventh pick.”I put it on my shoulders,” he added. ”I made a mistake and I just want them to know who I am, because once they get to know who I am, I think they’re going to like what they see.”Allen traveled to Buffalo along with fellow first-round draft pick Youth Jim Kelly Jerseys , Tremaine Edmunds. The Bills traded up six spots to select the Virginia Tech linebacker with the 16th pick.The trades left Buffalo with just the 96th pick on Friday, with which they selected Stanford defensive tackle Harrison Phillips. He’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 307 pounds and was a two-year starter with the Cardinal. Phillips led Stanford with 103 tackles while adding 7 1/2 sacks and earned first-team Pac-12 honors in his senior season last year.Phillips will have a chance to develop in Buffalo on a defensive line that features two veteran starters in Kyle Williams and offseason free-agent addition Star Lotulelei.Allen has been the focus of attention since Wednesday night, when Yahoo Sports reported the quarterback sent the now-deleted tweets in 2012 and 2013. They contained racially insensitive language and offensive statements.He has repeatedly apologized for the posts, while saying he was ”young and dumb” in parroting rap lyrics and catchphrases from TV and pop culture.Allen also expressed relief in how the Bills stuck by him in making him only the franchise’s fourth quarterback to be drafted in the first round. The selection only happened after general manager Brandon Beane spent much of Thursday speaking with Allen, his coaches and former teammates to be reassured of the player’s character.Allen acknowledged becoming emotional during a half-hour phone conversation with Beane.”I just really wanted him to know the type of person I was,” he said. ”I was embarrassed by everything that happened. It’s something that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy.”Coach Sean McDermott said he consulted with his team leaders once Allen’s tweets became public, while informing them of the possibility of the quarterback being selected.”We take these things seriously in respect to adding any player,” McDermott said. ”And when this came up, it went to another level.”Alexander said the Bills established a strong leadership group last year in confronting various issues – from a major roster overhaul to finding consensus on how to handle anthem protests. They finished 9-7 to end a 17-year playoff drought which the longest active streak in North America’s four major professional sports.Alexander said Bills defensive end Eddie Yarbrough vouched for Allen after the two played together at Wyoming in 2015.”I respect Eddie and his opinion,” Alexander said. ”So I would be foolish not to extend grace in getting to know this young man who’s coming into our locker room.”It wasn’t lost on Alexander, either, that the Bills previously welcomed Richie Incognito after the offensive guard was out of football for 18 months following his role in the Miami Dolphins’ bullying scandal in 2013. Incognito became a Bills leader before abruptly announcing his retirement this month.”I don’t see why this situation can’t be any different,” he said.”I think we have a strong locker room. We have leaders who promote healthy conversation,” Alexander said. ”We will move past this. And we’ll look back and it won’t even seem like it was as big as it was made out to be.”—