Bills at Patriots
The New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills are both in the postseason but there still is plenty at stake when the AFC East rivals square off Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. New England, which clinched a record 11th consecutive trip to the playoffs last week, can wrap up the division title and has a chance to earn a first-round bye against visiting Buffalo.
Seeking their 11th AFC East crown in a row, the Patriots have dominated the series against the Bills by winning six in a row and 34 of 39 following a hard-fought 16-10 victory in Buffalo in Week 4. “This is the best defense that we play, and the challenge is incredible," New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said of the Bills. "We’ve gotten to see them once this year, and now we have another opportunity to prepare and play an incredibly important game to our season this week." Winners of four of its last five, including road victories at Dallas and Pittsburgh, Buffalo holds a two-game edge for the fifth seed in the AFC and still has a shot at the division title with two wins and two losses by New England. “When we came to Buffalo, one of the things we wanted to do was to challenge and to do it every year,” coach Sean McDermott said. “We have a great amount of respect for the Patriots. Very well-coached team, disciplined football team, with a lot of talent and so, it’s an opportunity for us to continue to compete and to take another step as a football team.”
TV: 4:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network. LINE: Patriots -6.5. O/U: 37.5
ABOUT THE BILLS (10-4): Buffalo's defense has played as well, if not better, than any team over the past month by limiting three of four opponents to 15 points or fewer to rank second behind New England with 15.9 points allowed and third overall with 291.9 yards surrendered. Cornerback Tre'Davious White was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time after recording two interceptions, two passes defended and four tackles at Pittsburgh. Second-year quarterback Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for another last week but was picked off three times by New England in September. Allen's favorite target is John Brown, who went over 1,000 yards last week, while rookie Devin Singletary leads the ground game.
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (11-3): New England eased to a 34-13 win at woeful Cincinnati as former Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore, named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday, had a pick-6 among his two interceptions. The Patriots' defense leads the league in interceptions (25) along with points (12.9) and yards allowed (268.4), but the struggles on the other side of the ball can be best exemplified by the fact that not one offensive player was named to the Pro Bowl. Tom Brady set an NFL record with his 17th straight season of at least 20 touchdown passes, but he threw for just 128 yards last week and was limited to 150 yards and an interception in Buffalo. New England rushed for 175 yards last week but managed only 74 in Week 4.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Patriots RB Sony Michel rushed for 63 yards in Buffalo and had 116 yards and a score versus the Bills in December 2018.
2. Brown has 26 catches for 412 yards and four scores in his last four versus AFC East foes.
3. New England can clinch a first-round bye with a win and a loss or tie by Kansas City at Chicago.