Orchard Park, N.Y. — The last time the Buffalo Bills faced off against Stefon Diggs, the team’s former All Pro wide receiver, the 32-year-old put on a show.

Diggs caught 10 passes for 146 yards in his first trip back to Highmark Stadium since the Bills traded him last year.

This week, the Bills travel to Foxborough, Mass., for an AFC East rematch with the Patriots, and the division is on the line. A New England win secures the Patriots’ first division title since 2019 and ends a five-year run of dominance by Buffalo.

Defending Diggs will be a priority for Sean McDermott’s defense on Sunday. An early thought among some fans is to have cornerback Christian Benford shadow Diggs to limit his impact in the passing game.

Benford has arguably been the best cornerback in football the past two weeks. He had an interception against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13 and then a pick-six against the Bengals last week that helped the Bills pull off the comeback. Since Week 6, Benford is allowing just a 53.7 passer rating when he’s been targeted, and he hasn’t given up a touchdown since Week 4, per Pro Football Focus.

Will Benford be McDermott and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich’s plan?

Probably not.

Sure, Benford could travel with Diggs as he has in several big matchups this season against the opposition’s best receiver. Benford did it against Houston’s Nico Collins, Tampa Bay’s Emeka Egbuka, Carolina’s Tet McMillan, and Pittsburgh’s D.K. Metcalf over the past month-plus.

But Diggs seems poised to play the majority of his snaps in the slot, where the Bills line up nickel cornerback Taron Johnson. Benford has played only three snaps in the slot all season.

Last week against Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase, Benford lined up against the Bengals star on 16 of his 42 pass snaps in Buffalo’s 39-34 comeback victory. On those 16 snaps, Chase was targeted just twice and came away with zero catches. The Bengals moved Chase around and had him play 31% of his snaps in the slot.

Diggs has mainly played on the boundary this season, lining up in the slot on just 43% of his snaps over the first 10 games of the season. But offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has moved him inside much more over the past three games, with Diggs playing 70% of the snaps out of the slot.

Benford only matched up against Diggs five times when the teams met in October. That likely means the Bills will use a combination of Johnson and nickel cornerback/safety Cam Lewis to defend against Diggs.

Johnson and Lewis struggled last week against Joe Burrow, giving up nine receptions on 11 targets. It’s been an up-and-down season for Johnson, who was a second-team All Pro selection in 2023.

Babich said on Monday that Johnson has done some good things but has some plays he wants back.

“We ask him to do a lot of things,” Babich said. “Here’s a guy that’s fitting a B gap and playing man-to-man on a slot receiver. So, I would say there’s a little bit of up and down. But he’s definitely doing some good things.”

Diggs spoke to local reporters after Wednesday’s practice and said he expects the Bills to change up some things for the rematch. Not a lot, but some things.

“They’re gonna give you some different looks and different wrinkles to mess with your eyes,” Diggs said. “As a receiver, you might see a different coverage, see a guy in a different position, but they are who they are.”

Benford has plenty of battles against Diggs under his belt from their time together in Buffalo. When Diggs does line up outside – even if it’s at around 30% of the snaps – expect Benford to get a crack at covering him. The Bills could also ask veteran Tre’Davious White to cover Diggs. The two were also teammates in Buffalo when Diggs first arrived via trade from the Minnesota Vikings.

“They’re gonna do what they do well as far as like a defensive coach and as a staff,” Diggs said. “But who you identify and what you like to play and what you’re good at, you try not to stray too far away from that because then you’ll be out of position. That’s a hell of a football team. They’ve been winning.”