Buffalo Bills Week 16 Opponent Preview: New England Patriots

In Week 15, the Buffalo Bills snapped their two-game losing streak with a win over the Carolina Panthers by a final score of 31-14. This week, the Bills will again be playing for control of the AFC East against the New England Patriots.

Buffalo Bills All-Time Record vs the Patriots

The Buffalo Bills are 45-77-1 all-time against the Patriots. The Bills lost the first meeting between these two teams this season in a 14-10 slugfest. Prior to 2020, the Bills had won just five of the last 40 meetings between the two teams.

Last Meeting

The Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots last met three weeks ago in Orchard Park on Monday Night Football. The stakes were high in this game, as the winner would enter the driver’s seat in the AFC East.

The Bills and Patriots traded first-quarter touchdowns before New England kicked a 41 yard field goal to take an 11-7 lead into halftime. Tyler Bass hit a 35 yard field goal midway through the third quarter to bring the Bills within one, before Nick Folk would hit a 34 yard field goal to extend the lead to 14-10 in the fourth quarter.

The Bills would drive down the field in the dying minutes and set themselves up with a chance to win, but a Dawson Knox penalty killed the Buffalo drive in the red zone, and the Bills would not get the ball back.

Last Week’s Result

In Week 15, the Patriots were defeated by the surging Indianapolis Colts 27-17. The Patriots were down 20-0 entering the fourth quarter, but they rallied for 17 unanswered points to bring the game within three points with under three minutes to go. Jonathan Taylor would put the dagger in New England’s chances with a 67-yard touchdown run.

Mac Jones had his worst outing in quite some time on Saturday. He completed 26 of 45 passes for 299 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 74.2 passer rating.

In a funny bit of irony, the Patriots were on the opposing end of their Week 13 clash with the Bills. They allowed Colts quarterback Carson Wentz to complete just five passes on 12 attempts for 57 yards, but allowed 226 rushing yards on 39 attempts. They even forced a turnover, picking off Carson Wentz.

Final Thoughts:

In Week 16, the Buffalo Bills will get a mulligan for their Monday night mishap three weeks ago. However, the stakes are even higher this time, with Buffalo’s playoff chances increasing to 95% with a win, and dropping to 57% with a loss according to the New York Times playoff picture tool.

Mac Jones will certainly be throwing more than three pass attempts this time, and if Buffalo can force him to make a couple of mistakes and not make too many themselves, things could go much differently this time around. If you thought the Week 13 matchup was important, this game could make or break Buffalo’s season.