FOXBOROUGH — Josh McDaniels has coached a million games in Buffalo, give or take. It has been the most reliable trip on the Patriots’ travel itinerary — they know where to stay, where to enter the stadium, which way the wind blows, and, for the previous nine years, what to expect from the Bills’ defense under Sean McDermott.
But Sunday’s matchup will have a decidedly new flavor. It’s the Patriots’ first visit to the new Highmark Stadium, which opened this year and is holding just its third regular-season game.
“I hope in the locker room, this one’s a little bigger than the other one,” McDaniels said Thursday, referencing the notoriously cramped visitors’ locker room in the Bills’ old stadium.
The 3-0 Bills also enter Sunday’s game with a new look. Former offensive coordinator Joe Brady is now the head coach after the Bills fired McDermott after the playoff loss to the Broncos, bringing relaxed, player-friendly vibes to the locker room. And in a classic case of “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” the Bills’ defense is now run by former Broncos defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard.
“It’s kind of a unique preparation,” McDaniels said. “For the first time in a long time, it’s not Sean’s scheme. You can feel the Denver influence from last year in terms of the way they try to play and how they try to stop you.”
It hasn’t been a seamless transition for Leonhard. The Bills are tied for 21st in points allowed (26.0 per game), allowing the Texans and Lions to each score 31 before holding the Chargers to 16 last week. The Bills also rank 27th in pressuring the quarterback (31.2 percent).
But Leonhard, who played for the Ravens and Jets in the Rex Ryan days nearly 20 years ago, hasn’t blitzed much, relying more on his front four to get home. Defensive end Greg Rousseau leads the league with six sacks, becoming the first player in 28 years with multiple sacks in each of his first three games.
“Heavy emphasis on the guys that have their hand in the dirt and make a negative play,” McDaniels said. “Their fourth game in their new scheme, so I don’t know that we’ve seen everything they have.”
The 1-2 Patriots will also have to prepare for some new looks from the Bills’ offense. While the scheme is generally the same since Brady, a Sean Payton disciple, took over as offensive coordinator in 2023, the Bills’ offense is thriving with a new wrinkle — a heavy use of “13” personnel, or one running back, one wide receiver, and three tight ends. It’s usually a short-yardage formation, but the Bills and Rams are at the forefront of using it in base situations — the Rams have used it 84 times this season, and the Bills are second with 59. The Bills used “13” personnel just 50 times all of last year, and 23 times in 2024.
Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid is thriving with 14 catches for 263 yards (18.8 average) and one touchdown. Fellow tight ends Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes have mostly been used as blockers, but their presence has still helped open the field for the Bills’ offense.
The challenges with “13” personnel are two-fold. In the running game, it spaces out the defense. James Cook has rushed 32 times for 172 yards and five touchdowns out of “13,” averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
“They want to stretch you horizontally — they’re from one opposite hash to almost midway to the numbers,” Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane said. “It really provides a lot of gaps in there, and they pretty much just give James Cook the ball and say, ‘Run where they’re not,’ and he does that really well. So they provide challenges, and we’re going to have to be really fundamentally sound with our defensive scheme.”
The “13” personnel also can present problems in the passing game. Defenses often counter with extra linebackers, who often aren’t as good in pass coverage. The heavy formation also lends itself to big passing plays with play-action.
Josh Allen’s passing stats are modest, completing 8 of 13 for 96 yards, a touchdown, and an interception out of “13.”
The Bills even used “14” personnel — one running back and four tight ends — on a couple of snaps last week, with Keleki Latu as the fourth.
“We have such a unique tight end room that everybody has so many different character traits,” Brady said. “The more that we’re getting those guys on the field, good things are happening, that’s for sure.”
For good measure, the Patriots will also have to prepare for a new gadget — receiver D.J. Moore, a do-everything weapon who has 11 catches for 167 yards and a touchdown after being acquired from the Bears.
But even with a new stadium, new schemes, and new weapons, not everything will feel different on Sunday.
“It’ll always feel like the Buffalo Bills with James Cook and Josh Allen,” Spillane said. “Those two have been back there since I’ve played them when I was with Pittsburgh, and they’re still rolling. So they are always a fun challenge to go up against.”
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.