So which New England Patriots team will show up Sunday in the AFC East showdown in Buffalo against the Bills?

The one that lost by 27 points to Kansas City? Or the one that beat the Cincinnati Bengals by 26 points six days later?

Your guess is as good as mine so go ahead. Make one.

If there is one thing we’ve learned in this NFL season, it’s that we’ve learned nothing.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

We have learned no lead is safe. We’ve had 16 teams come back from at least 10 points down to win – the second-most in the first five weeks of a season since 1970. That list includes the Bills, who rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat the Lions in Detroit last Sunday, 17-14.

Beyond that, five teams have come from at least 17 points down to win, also the second-most since 1970.

So what does this all mean for the Patriots?

Simply that they better come to play like they did last week in their 43-17 humbling of the then-unbeaten Bengals. The Patriots played like they had something to prove last week. And they did.

After getting whacked by the Chiefs 41-14, the Patriots had to prove they were still relevant in the AFC. They experienced perhaps the toughest week of the Coach Bill Belichick era, where everyone – fans and media, local and national – was questioning whether this team had the talent or heart to compete for another championship.

Quarterback Tom Brady, in particular, came under fire for his throwing ability, for his decision making, even for his attitude. Tight end Rob Gronkowski said the players made it their task last Sunday night to show everyone that Brady was still Tom Terrific.

“I’m going to make (No.) 12 look like Tom Brady again,” Gronkowski said he told his brother before he left for the stadium last Sunday.

Brady, as usual, dismissed the noise leading into the game. While acknowledging it exists – “We all have TVs or the internet,” he said – he stressed that players have to ignore the critics and stay on track.

That the Patriots rallied around each other last Sunday night shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

“When you had the result that we had (against Kansas City) as a team, I think everybody rallied around each other,” said Belichick. “I mean, who else is there to rally around?”

This is how a good team responds. This is how the Patriots need to move forward.

They need to play with an emotional edge, but they also need to play smart football. Against the Bengals, Brady was surgical in his decisions, completing 23 passes to eight different receivers for 292 yards.

More impressive is that the Patriots rushed the ball 43 times for 224 yards (not counting Jimmy Garoppolo’s three kneel-downs for minus-4 yards to end the game).

That’s the offensive balance the Patriots need if they’re going to keep moving forward.

Certainly there are going to be games where Stevan Ridley is not going to carry the ball 27 times, as he did last Sunday for 113 yards. But the Patriots cannot abandon the run as they had in previous games.

Defensively, the Patriots should continue to allow Darrelle Revis to take on the opposition’s No.1 receiver, as he did last week with the Bengals’ A.J. Green.

That would mean putting him on Buffalo rookie Sammy Watkins, who has shown he’s ready to be a big-time playmaker in the NFL.

Yes, Green caught five passes, but his touchdown catch came on the first play after Revis was injured making a tackle – on Revis’ replacement Logan Ryan. But Green wasn’t much of a factor the rest of the game.

The Patriots’ defense was impressive, especially considering it was without linebacker Dont’a Hightower (out with an injury) and played defensive end Chandler Jones sparingly because of a shoulder issue. New England forced three fumbles, leading to 13 points, and held the Bengals without a third-down conversion in seven attempts.

For all that, the Patriots know they can’t listen to the noise.

This week, instead of bashing the Patriots, fans and the media were saying how they were back, that they had righted the ship.

Brady knows that’s not necessarily true, that a team is only as good as it plays that particular afternoon.

“(Last week) was a great win for our team,” said Brady. “They all count in the end. It was one win. It was a great win for our team because coming off a tough loss, we needed it, especially going out to Buffalo this week and knowing how challenging this game is going to be.”

And this is a big game. It’s only Week Six of the season but the winner will have a leg up in the AFC East race. Each team is 3-2. Each team has played one division game, both against Miami. The Patriots lost 33-20 in Miami, the Bills beat the Dolphins 29-10 in Buffalo.

If you follow that through, the Bills should easily beat the Patriots. But they are facing Brady, who has a 22-2 record against Buffalo in his career.

He knows it won’t be easy. Buffalo can be a difficult place to play. And his only two losses to the Bills came at Ralph Wilson Stadium, 31-0 in 2003 and 34-31 in 2011.

“Those stick out to me,” said Brady, when asked by a Buffalo reporter about his success against the Bills.

Which means, of course, that he’ll be extremely focused and ready to play Sunday. And that’s how the Patriots need to be as a team.

They proved last week that they can still compete with the better teams in the NFL. Now they have to prove they can maintain that momentum, that focused edge, week to week.

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