This Week 18 game against the New England Patriots will be a meaningless game for the Buffalo Bills in recent memory. The last time they played a pointless game where no matter the outcome, nothing would change, was back in the 2020 season. All that matters is that they show up to Foxborough healthy and leave healthy to get ready for the postseason.
While it will be fun to watch the Bills play at 1PM tomorrow, the biggest thing that will have the attention of Bills fans is who the Bills will play in the first round. Tonight, one of their potential opponents in the Cincinnati Bengals face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Bengals win, they keep their chances alive. If they lose, they are out.
Then at 4:25PM EST on Sunday, Bills fans will want to pay close attention to Kansas City vs. Denver as well as Miami vs. NY Jets. If Denver beats Kansas City, they will travel to Buffalo. If the Broncos lose and the Dolphins win, the Bills will host Miami. If both Denver and Miami lose and Cincinnati wins, the Bengals will take on the Bills. Finally, if all three teams lose, then the Broncos clinch the last seed.
Before Bills fans find out who Buffalo will take on in the playoffs, they have to get through four quarters of watching backups face off against the Patriots. While this game means nothing for the Bills, the Patriots have a lot to potentially lose if they win this game. If New England beats Buffalo, they take the risk of losing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Patriots claimed the top spot in the draft last week after the New York Giants played their way out of it against the Indianapolis Colts.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco’s Bills vs. Patriots prediction has Patriots winning, but potentially losing something bigger
Pete Prisco from CBS Sports published his weekly predictions for every NFL game and when it came to Buffalo vs. New England, Prisco has the Patriots pulling off a 24-23 upset against the Bills.
"The Bills will rest guys here to get ready for the playoffs. The Patriots played the Bills tough two weeks ago, so what's to think they won't play their backups even better this time? Look for Drake Maye to have a nice day as the Patriots' first-team group wins it. "Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
It’s a four-team race for the No. 1 overall pick between the Patriots, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and New York Giants. All four teams have a 3-13 record but the Patriots have the lower strength-of-schedule per Tankathon. If the Patriots do end up beating the Bills and one of the three other teams lose their game, the Patriots will lose out on the top spot in the draft.
That would mean that they would lose all leverage to take the best player available or even get a haul of picks of a QB-needy team. So, in all reality, if the Bills wanted to take a little loss in a completely pointless game and allow New England to play themselves out of the No. 1 pick, then so be it.