This much is certain: the Patriots defense cannot have a repeat of last week.

That clearly won’t cut it against the Bills, or anyone else, that Week 7 clunker when Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers stomped all over the Patriots, who allowed a season-high 467 yards.

The Niners ran and passed at will, punting just once during their 33-6 thrashing of the Patriots.

If that’s the defense that shows up in Buffalo, just hand a victory to the Bills.

The players know what’s at stake, and what they are facing. While Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen has cooled off recently after a torrid start, the Patriots are well aware of what he’s capable of and how he can beat them.

He’s still a threat with his rifle arm and running ability. He also has plenty of weapons both in the pass and run game to do damage.

So for the Patriots defense to rebound, and keep their season alive, they’ll need to focus on several keys against the Bills offense.

1. Force Josh Allen to dink and dunk

The first four games, all wins, Allen’s quarterback rating was 122.7. The last three, it’s 81.4.

Allen’s completion percentage has also dipped from 71.0 percent to 63.1 percent, while his average passing yards per game has also shrunk (331.5 yards to 230.7).

How have defenses been effective against Allen of late?

By keeping everything in front and taking away the home-run ball the Bills had thrived on early. That falls into the wheelhouse of the Patriots strengths in the secondary.

Basically, an effective strategy has been letting Allen dink and dunk down the field believing he’ll make a mistake at some point.

And of late, the mistakes have also multiplied for Allen, with three interceptions the past three games.

Basically, his accuracy issues have crept back into the picture given he’s had to throw more, and think faster.

In the past, the Patriots have capitalized on Allen’s inexperience and lack of patience.

2. Derail Diggs

The Bills thought Stefon Diggs was the missing piece to their offense, trading for the former Vikings wideout during the offseason. And early on, it’s hard to argue.

Diggs has quickly become Allen’s favorite receiver and chief home run threat.

“It’s a dangerous combination when you have a receiver of that caliber and then a quarterback who can get it to him anywhere on the field,” said Patriots safety Adrian Phillips. “So you definitely have to know where he’s at all the time.”

Stephon Gilmore would usually draw that assignment, but he has already been ruled out of Sunday’s game with a knee injury. In a Week 13 game against the Vikings during the 2018 season, Gilmore shadowed Diggs on 84.6% of his routes. The Patriots limited Diggs to five catches for 49 yards with no touchdowns on six targets. On the five targets directly against Gilmore, Diggs had four catches for 31 yards.

This season, Allen has targeted Diggs 70 times over the course of seven games.

While Diggs hasn’t topped 50 yards in either of the past two weeks, he’s seventh and 12th, respectively, in the NFL averaging 10 targets and 86.1 yards receiving per game. With 48 catches for 603 yards, he’s easily on pace for the best season of his career.

The Patriots will need to take away his threat.

3. Tighten run defense

Heading into Week 8, the Patriots had coughed up 132.2 yards per game on the ground, which is 27th in the league. That includes the 197 yards the Niners racked up in the blowout win last week.

If the Patriots allow the Bills to establish a run game with Devin Singletary and Zack Moss, that will make it doubly hard to shut down Allen and the passing game.

And while the Bills haven’t exactly forced the issue with a ground and pound attack, Brian Daboll will make sure his offense is balanced.

The Patriots also have to be aware of Allen tucking the football and taking off. He averages 4.3 yards per carry and has a team-high three rushing touchdowns.

“He’s so dangerous when he runs, that you’ve got to just be ready,” said Patriots defensive captain Devin McCourty. “I mean, it’s similar even like with Cam (Newton), what we get to see. He’s going to try to stay in that pocket, but you still understand, once those guys get going down the field, you’ve got to be ready to tackle him. And this isn’t just a small quarterback running. It’s a big guy running, good speed, able to break tackles.”

The Bills are also likely to take a page out of the Niners book, incorporating a lot of motion to help passing game, while using it for jet sweeps. They’ll have to be ready for Isaiah McKenzie in that role.

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