FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots visit the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, a rare situation in that the teams just met on Oct. 2. So unlike most weeks, when the Patriots are familiarizing themselves with the opponent's personnel, this will have a different feel than any other this season, as it will mostly be review.

So the analysis is somewhat straight-forward: It starts with running back LeSean McCoy, who was a handful on Oct. 2.

While McCoy is expected to be questionable with a hamstring injury, the Patriots won't be taking anything for granted.

"Obviously, an outstanding, outstanding running back. Someone that is extremely quick, fast and versatile," defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said. "They're doing a good job of using him in a bunch of different runs and run packages. I would say overall with him this year [he's] much more of an inside threat in the run game. He's obviously always been an outside threat. He does a good job with the bounce-out runs or some of the scheme runs where they get him outside on the edge and he can use his speed. He does a real good job with the C-gap runs, which are a lot of the runs that Buffalo likes to run kind of in their core aspect of the run game. You know, get the ball off tackle and he can hit it really at that 45-degree angle and get quick into the secondary.

"What he's been able to do now, what he's done a real good job of is downhill runs. The downhill runs, I would say out of him now, are much more dangerous and really once he breaks, he's into the secondary or into the safeties a lot quicker. Now he has an opportunity to get open field, kind of uses his skill level in the open field to get guys to miss tackles or get an angle on a defender where he can run away or make him miss and then push it vertical.

"So you definitely see that recently in the last several weeks where he had some of those really explosive runs right through the middle of the line of scrimmage. So those are a little bit of a different kind of issue for us and we've got to make sure we can defend along with everything he can do on the perimeter and on the edge. They've got a real good scheme and they can get him out into space, get him over where he can just basically outrun the force. He does a good job of that; very talented guy -- dangerous, dangerous runner. Obviously, [he] is carrying the workload there for them. [Mike] Gillislee is another guy that has done a great job in the run game for them. He's a big guy, he can come downhill and he does a good job with those scheme runs; very talented in the backfield."

While it starts with McCoy, the Patriots know they have more to contend with, and ESPN.com Bills reporter Mike Rodak provides a scouting report on some key personnel:

OFFENSE

QB Tyrod Taylor: The best way to describe Taylor's performance through seven games is that he has never been the reason why the Bills have lost games, but he's not the biggest reason why they've won games, either. Taylor has excelled at protecting the football, throwing just two interceptions on 192 pass attempts this season. He also leads NFL quarterbacks with 271 rushing yards. On the down side, his 6.76 yards per attempt ranks 25th in the NFL and he has a 24.9 QBR in the fourth quarter, 29th in the NFL.

RB LeSean McCoy: What a difference a week makes. After the Bills defeated the 49ers for their fourth consecutive victory, McCoy was a burgeoning NFL MVP candidate. Last Wednesday, he tweaked his hamstring in practice and was ineffective in Sunday's loss to Miami, gaining only 11 yards on eight carries. His status for this Sunday's game against the Patriots remains in doubt. The Bills' offense would be much different without McCoy, who averaged over six yards per carry over the Bills' recent winning streak.

WR Justin Hunter: The Titans' former second-round pick continues to work his way into a larger role in the Bills' offense, partially because of injury. The Bills were down their top three receivers -- Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods and Greg Salas -- for Sunday's loss to Miami, resulting in Hunter playing his most snaps since being claimed off waivers earlier this month. Woods might return to play against the Patriots, but fellow receiver Marquise Goodwin is in the concussion protocol, which should give Hunter more opportunity to play.

DEFENSE

DT Marcell Dareus: Perhaps the Bills' best defensive player, he's yet to play this season because of a four-game suspension and a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the past three games. Rex Ryan is hopeful that Dareus can return this week, which would be timely against Tom Brady and the red-hot Patriots offense. Still, expect Dareus to be shaking off some rust if he does see action Sunday.

OLB Lorenzo Alexander: A veteran free-agent signing this past offseason, Alexander has been one of the best stories on the Bills. He leads the NFL with 9.0 sacks and is the first player since Jared Allen in 2011 to record a sack in each of the first seven games of a season. Alexander, a longtime special-teams ace for the Redskins and Cardinals, has quickly gained the respect of his teammates in the locker room and taken a leadership role.

S Robert Blanton: Patriots fans will likely recognize his name from the pregame scuffle at Gillette Stadium in which Blanton shoved quarterback Jacoby Brissett, initiating a larger altercation. Blanton, who signed as a free agent this past offseason after four years with the Vikings, has been mostly a rotational player in the Bills' defense and a special-teams contributor. He could start Sunday if Aaron Williams, who was sent to the hospital Sunday after taking an illegal hit from Miami's Jarvis Landry, can't play.