Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots: Final score prediction for Week 16

In Week 16, the Buffalo Bills will be looking to take back control of the AFC East when they meet the New England Patriots for a second time this season.

The Patriots currently sit at 9-5, one game ahead of the Bills in the AFC East and one game behind Kansas City for the top seed in the AFC.

The Patriots are the league’s best scoring defense, allowing just 16.2 points per game. They are similar to Buffalo’s defense in the sense that they are much stronger defending the pass than the run. New England is third in the NFL in passing yards allowed, but just 24th in rushing yards allowed.

New England has one of the league’s best secondaries, lined with key contributors like J.C. Jackson, Adrian Phillips, and Kyle Dugger. The unit is capable of locking down even the league’s best passing attacks.

New England’s offense has not been nearly as good as their defense, but they have been a serviceable unit. The Patriots offense is currently 10th in the NFL in points scored, and 16th in total yardage.

New England may be short-handed on offense in this matchup, however. As Rhamondre Stevenson and Nelson Agholor will both miss the game, Kendrick Bourne is still on the COVID-19 reserve list, and N’Keal Harry and Damien Harris are both questionable. Mac Jones may have to lean heavily on his tight ends on Sunday.

As for the Buffalo, they had a decent day against a great Carolina defense last week, scoring 31 points and posting 312 total yards. Josh Allen threw for 210 yards, three scores, and an interception on 34 attempts. Devin Singletary also saw a heavy workload, carrying the ball 22 times for 86 yards.

The Bills will also be missing some players on the offensive side of the ball in this matchup. Both Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis were placed on the COVID-19 reserve list this week, and considering neither one of them is vaccinated, they could both miss next week’s affair against the Falcons as well.

Buffalo’s defense got back to their dominant ways last week against Carolina. They allowed just 275 yards of offense and held Carolina to just 14 points. They did, however, allow 151 rushing yards, their third-highest total of the season.

Final Score Prediction: Buffalo Bills 17, New England Patriots 16

It is pretty simple; the winner of this game is almost certainly going to win the AFC East. The Bills will host the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Jets in their final two matchups, while the Patriots will host the Jaguars before finishing their regular season in Miami.

The Buffalo Bills have been gifted a mulligan after their heartbreaking 14-10 loss to New England back in Week 13, and while both teams will be short-handed on offense, the Bills are a little deeper in the positions that have been affected.

The Bills also have the better quarterback and the quarterback who is equipped to overcome a challenge like the one they will face this week. This game really could go either way, but the Buffalo Bills will squeak by the New England Patriots in a game that will come down to the wire.