Bills' Connor McGovern sends warning to NFL ahead of massive game vs. Patriots

The New England Patriots know that they will claim the AFC East division title if they defeat the 9-4 Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Bills haven't yet clinched a playoff spot. 

Nevertheless, Bills offensive lineman Connor McGovern sent somewhat of a warning to the rest of the league regarding what Buffalo could achieve this winter.

Bills believe they're scary despite division standings

"When people start to count us out, and we feel like we have nothing to lose, I feel like we're one of the scariest teams in the NFL," McGovern said, via ESPN's Dan Graziano. "The AFC is so open right now that these last four, five games are like playoff games."

The 11-2 Patriots and 11-2 Denver Broncos are battling it out for the AFC's No. 1 seed, but neither club has a roster that has shown it can win on the biggest of stages. The 9-4 Jacksonville Jaguars, 7-6 Pittsburgh Steelers, 9-4 Los Angeles Chargers and 8-5 Houston Texans all have warts. One general manager for an AFC club recently told Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated that he feels "there are at least eight teams that can win" Super Bowl LX. 

In short, one can't blame McGovern for believing a Bills team that has reigning MVP Josh Allen as its quarterback could make some serious noise over the next month or two. 

Do Bills have playoff advantage over rest of AFC?

"It helps us tremendously that we've been in this situation before," McGovern continued. "I know a lot of these teams haven't really been through adversity like that, so maybe they fold, maybe they don't, we don't know yet. But I know the guys in this locker room will never give up. So anytime there's still a sliver of a chance to get something done, we'll do it."

Graziano added that "the Bills will be easily the most playoff-tested squad in" the AFC field if the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs miss the playoffs. Neither the 6-7 Ravens nor the 6-7 Chiefs are currently in playoff position.

As of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Bills as 1.5-point road favorites over the Patriots. That matchup at Gillette Stadium could prove to be a measuring-stick game as it pertains to the AFC portion of the playoffs.