ESPN.com · Oct 25, 2018
In Thurman Thomas' days, Bills-Patriots was very different
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The last time the Buffalo Bills entered a game against the New England Patriots with a better record than their AFC East opponent was Week 4 of the 2012 season, when Buffalo was 2-1 and New England was 1-2.
In contrast, in Thurman Thomas' first seven seasons the Bills never had a worse record than the Patriots when they met. It took until Week 16 of the 1994 season when the Bills, then 7-7, met the Patriots, then 8-6.
The AFC East has been flipped upside down in the past 25 years, with the once-dominant Bills sliding into mediocrity while the once-lowly Patriots haven risen to become the league's most consistently successful team.
