Mike Vrabel didn’t shy away from calling the Patriots’ matchup with defending AFC East champion Buffalo a chance to gauge where they were at this point in the season.

New England’s response on the field — a 23-20 win over the previously undefeated Bills — underscored a confidence that the Patriots coach said he already had in a group that announced itself as a division contender after years of being out of the mix.

This marks the first time since 2019 that the Patriots (3-2) have opened the season 2-0 in AFC East play.

“We talked about how we need to improve along the way, and this was the next step that we needed to take,” Vrabel said.

Those strides were evident all over the field.

Defensively, the Patriots kept Bills quarterback Josh Allen mostly in check while forcing three turnove

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