In spite of their disastrous quarterback situation the Buffalo Bills (6-5) are still in the AFC playoff race. The New England Patriots (9-2) roll into New Era Field Sunday to take care of that problem.
If you want to watch this game, you’ll need to tune into your local CBS station at 1 p.m. EST.
The Game: New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills (+8.5)
O/U: 48.5
The History
The Bills and Patriots have faced off 114 times since 1960 with New England holding a commanding 70-43-1 advantage in the all time series.
Last season the teams split their games. Buffalo won 16-0 on October 2, 2016 at Gillette Stadium and the Patriots won 41-25 at New Era Field on October 30, 2016.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (9-2)
Alright, Patriots fans. Gird yourselves. I SAID GIRD YOURSELVES! Tom Brady is on the injury report and actually missed some practice this week. He’s dealing with an Achilles injury that’s bugged him for the last few weeks. It’s not kept him from playing or even kept him from being awesome, but it’s worrisome. Especially since Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks was dealing with the same thing and tore it on a tackle. He’s now out for the season. With the beating Brady has taken behind a lackluster offensive line this season, that has to have people in New England sweating.
Last week in a 35-17 win over the Miami Dolphins, Brady was 18 of 28 for 227 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. The Dolphins couldn’t stop anything the Patriots wanted to do. Dion Lewis rushed the ball 15 times for 112 yards and Rex Burkhead had 13 carries for 50 yards. Burkhead caught two passes for three yards and a score.
Brandin cooks caught six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Rob Gronkowski is healthy at the right time, catching five passes for 82 yards and two scores.
While Brady isn’t out on the injury report, Chris Hogan and Marcus Cannon remain in sweats. Plenty of guys are questionable, but they all practiced and should play.
BUFFALO BILLS (6-5)
If the Bills are going to knock off the Patriots they’ll have to do it without Kelvin Benjamin. He’s out this week with a knee injury. Cordy Glenn hasn’t played in weeks and that won’t change Sunday. His ankle is still a problem. Running back Mike Tolbert and guard John Miller will miss the game too.
Buffalo comes into this game off another huge win against a team it had no business beating. The Bills knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs 16-10. The victory halted a three game losing streak that head coach Sean McDermott ready to cash in the season and hand the team to rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman. After Peterman immediately turned the football over five times in his first start, Tyrod Tayler resumed his duties at quarterback.
Did it do any good? Well, he didn’t throw five interceptions so there’s that. In fact, he didn’t turn the ball over at all as he completed 19 of 29 for 183 yards and a touchdown. He did enough not to lose and the defense closed the gap by picking of Alex Smith once and holding Kareem Hunt to just 17 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Nothing worked all that well on Buffalo’s offense. LeSean McCoy gained 49 yards on 22 carries and Charles Clay led the receiving corps with four catches for 60 yards.
The Pick
This is a legitimately scary game for the Patriots, believe it or not. In any given season, they drop a worthless game against an AFC East opponent and the Bills are just the kind of team that can sneak a win here. The truth is, the Pats could lose this game and still lock up home field advantage by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in a couple of weeks. Brady isn’t 100 percent and if Buffalo’s defense can rush the passer. I don’t think it’s really going to make a difference with the final result, but I do think it’ll affect the score. Patriots 23, Bills 20
This week
Straight up: 1-0
Against the spread: 1-0
Last week
Straight up: 11-5
Against the spread: 10-6
Season
Straight up: 104-72
Against the spread: 91-85
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