The New England Patriots still have three games left. Expect Hunter Henry to make them count.

The veteran tight end has 635 receiving yards in the regular season. At age 30, he’s only 18 years away from matching his career high from 2019 with the Los Angeles Chargers. The closest way to get there is Highmark Stadium.

Sunday’s flexible kickoff against the Buffalo Bills is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET.

“Obviously we’ve played these guys twice in the last three weeks. “It’s a divisional game,” Henry told reporters for the AFC East champions during their press conference Wednesday. “You go out on the street. I mean, it’s a great environment. Buffalo is a cool place to play. Hugely talented football team. I mean, obviously they’re playing great this year. It’s a difficult challenge, so you have to look forward to the challenge.”

Every game was a challenge for a 3-11 team. But the captain at tight end continued to be an answer from September through December. Last week, Henry had 62 catches for the year, surpassing a mark that had stood since his last tour with the organization that selected him.

“Yes, it’s always good to reach a milestone,” said the 1.80 meter tall, 110 kilogram heavy Henry. “It’s been a while, I feel like I’ve had this. I feel like this was my fourth or fifth year. So it’s always good to have a new milestone. It’s also something to pursue next year. Hopefully I can keep piling it on and piling it a little higher so I can achieve even more.”

The former John Mackey Award winner entered the second round at No. 35 overall in 2016. And when free agency opened in 2021, he headed from Los Angeles to Foxborough on a three-year, $37.5 million contract. A three-year, $27 million extension kept him there before legal tampering began around the league last March.

Henry’s run with the Patriots included 2,166 yards and 18 touchdowns through the air. He amassed 195 catches in 62 games. Only four tight ends in franchise history have amassed more during their tenure. Having recently surpassed the 184 set by Ben Watson, only Russ Francis with 207, Marv Cook with 210, Ben Coates with 490 and Rob Gronkowski with 521 are ahead, according to Stathead.com.

The University of Arkansas product has not been left off the stat sheet in 17 consecutive appearances dating back to last winter.

“I take a lot of pride in just trying to be consistent,” Henry added. “Go out there and be the same week in and week out, be available and play for this team when I can. Obviously these guys have been doing this for a long time and have been very successful. People I’ve watched who have had a lot of success. So it means a lot just to be mentioned in those names because they are all great players.”

Henry scored nine touchdowns in his first season with New England. And while his last visit to the end zone came in October during rookie quarterback Drake Maye’s first NFL start, he leads the passing game in targets, receptions, receiving yards and first downs.