Patriots focused on upsetting Bills, not on top overall draft pick

Losing on purpose isn't the plan for the New England Patriots as they prepare to face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.

While New England (3-13) officially would secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft if it falls to Buffalo in the regular-season finale, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said he wants his team to end the campaign 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," Mayo said. "I would say the guys are ready to go. ... 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."

Playing to win means the Patriots plan to stick with rookie Drake Maye under center. The third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft is dealing with a right hand injury, though, and if he isn't good to go on Sunday, fellow rookie Joe Milton III could see some playing time.

"If he's healthy and ready to go, as we go through this week of practice, then he'll play," Mayo said of Maye, who was a limited participant during practice on Wednesday.

The Bills (13-3) helped push New England toward the top pick by recording a 24-21 win over the Patriots in Week 16. The situation got worse for New England in a 40-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last Saturday, the Patriots' sixth straight defeat.

Maye finished with only 117 yards and one touchdown on 12-of-22 passing against Los Angeles, which held New England to 181 yards of total offense and 11 first downs.

Buffalo, on the other hand, ended up on the right side of a blowout, dismantling the New York Jets 40-14 last Sunday. Josh Allen completed 16 of 27 passes for 182 yards and two TDs and also found the end zone once on the ground, and the Bills' defense didn't let New York score until 6:59 remained in the game.

Getting past the Jets allowed Buffalo to clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC, giving Bills coach Sean McDermott a chance to experiment on Sunday.

"What we're going to do is you'll see some starters out there playing, and you'll see some other players who we want to take a good look at," McDermott said. "So it'll be a blend of both."

Allen will start but will have a short leash, according to McDermott.

Linebacker Terrel Bernard is dealing with a leg injury and was the only Bill to miss practice on Wednesday. Safeties Damar Hamlin (ribs) and Taylor Rapp (neck) were among those who were limited.

Wide receivers Kayshon Boutte (illness) and Ja'Lynn Polk (shoulder), center Ben Brown (concussion) and cornerback Christian Gonzalez (concussion) were held out of the Patriots' practice on Wednesday. Nine players joined Maye in being limited, including tight end Hunter Henry (foot) and safety Kyle Dugger (ankle/quadricep).

--Field Level Media