Buffalo (9-4) at New England (11-2)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS.

NFL odds: Bills by 1.

Against the spread: Bills 6-7; Patriots 8-4-1.

Series record: Patriots lead 80-51-1.

Last meeting: Patriots won 23-20 in Buffalo on Oct. 5, 2025.

Last week: Bills beat Bengals 39-34; Patriots beat Giants 33-15 on Dec. 1.

Bills offense: overall (2), rush (1), pass (11), scoring (5t).

Bills defense: overall (10), rush (28), pass (2), scoring (14).

Patriots offense: overall (8), rush (21), pass (2), scoring (7)

Patriots defense: overall (7), rush (3), pass (14), scoring (5)

Turnover differential: Bills minus-1; Patriots plus-1.

Bills player to watch

QB Josh Allen. The eighth-year starter is coming off an outing in which he passed for three touchdowns and scored another rushing while rallying Buffalo from a 10-point deficit in the final eight minutes. Allen has combined for three or more touchdowns seven times this season — all wins — and is looking to atone for a sloppy two-TD and two-turnover outing in Buffalo’s loss to New England in Week 5.

Patriots players to watch

QB Drake Maye. The second-year standout enters this week first in the NFL with a 71.5 completion percentage and 111.9 passer rating. He's also second in the NFL in yards passing (3,412). Since 1970, three quarterbacks have led the league in yards, completion percentage and passer rating in the same season: Tom Brady in 2007, Kurt Warner in 2001 and Ken Anderson in 1974.

Key matchup

Allen and RB James Cook vs. Patriots run defense. The Patriots have been stingy against the run all season and come in allowing opponents only 89.5 yards per game on the ground. But the Bills have been great running the ball over their last two games. Against Pittsburgh in Week 13, Cook (144 yards) led the offense in an outing that saw Buffalo rack up a season-high 249 rushing yards. In their win over Cincinnati the following week, the Bills had 183 yards rushing – including 78 and a touchdown by Allen.

Key injuries

Bills: Buffalo is getting healthier with RT Spencer Brown (right shoulder) expected to return after missing two games. ... DE Joey Bosa (hamstring/wrist) has a chance to return after he resumed practicing on a limited basis after missing one game. ... LB Terrel Bernard’s status remains uncertain after missing two games with an elbow issue.

Patriots: Rookie LT Will Campbell won't play for the second straight game after he was placed on injured reserve Nov. 26 with a knee injury. ... LG Jared Wilson began the week as a full participant after sitting out last week with an ankle injury. ... RB Terrell Jennings started the week in the concussion protocol.

Series notes

The Patriots’ 80 wins over the Bills are their highest total against any opponent. ... New England is 41-24 all-time at home against Buffalo, including 18-5 at Gillette Stadium. ... The last time the Bills have been swept by a division foe was in 2019, Tom Brady’s last season in New England, when the Bills lost both games to the Pats.

Stats and stuff

The Patriots will clinch both the AFC East title and a playoff berth with a victory, ending Buffalo’s streak of five consecutive division titles. ... Including the playoffs, Buffalo is 12-12 on the road since 2023 and 3-3 this season. ... Buffalo is one win shy of its seventh consecutive season with 10 or more victories. ... Bills coach Sean McDermott improved to 95-49, moving ahead of John Madden and Mike McCarthy for the most regular-season wins among NFL coaches in their first nine years. McDermott is one win shy of matching Paul Brown, while George Seifert leads the list with 106. ... Allen improved to 6-0 this season and 38-7 overall when not committing a giveaway. The quarterback also extended his NFL record with his 50th game in which he has scored a TD on a pass and a run. ... RB James Cook topped 100 yards from scrimmage for a 10th time last weekend, but also lost a fumble -- his third of the season. The turnover came in the red zone, marking the fifth time the Bills have coughed up the ball inside an opponent’s 20 this season. The previous four giveaways were Allen interceptions. ... TE Dawson Knox had season highs with six catches and a team-leading 93 yards -- the third most of his seven-year career -- against the Bengals. ... CB Christian Benford scored on a 63-yard interception return against Cincinnati and a week after scoring on a 17-yard fumble return. He became Buffalo’s first player to score on TD returns in consecutive games. ... Buffalo has scored on a return in three straight, with Ray Davis’ 97-yard kickoff return in a 23-19 loss at Houston. ... The Patriots can also clinch a playoff berth with several combinations of tie and losses involving multiple teams. ... New England hasn’t won the AFC East since 2019, its final in a streak of 11 consecutive titles from 2009 to 2019. ... An 11th consecutive victory would be the third-longest single-season streak in team history. The Patriots have had streaks of at least 11 wins in a season two previous times: a 12-game streak in 2003 and a 16-game streak in 2007. ... A victory would give the Patriots their 14th 12-win season in team history. ... Mike Vrabel can become the third head coach since 1970 to record a winning streak of 11 or more games in his first season with a team, joining Jim Caldwell (14 consecutive wins with Indianapolis in 2009) and Steve Mariucci (11 with San Francisco in 1997). ... New England is the first team in NFL history to win 10 consecutive games with at least 23 points scored and 23 or fewer points allowed in each game. ... WR Stefon Diggs leads the team with 64 receptions and 705 receiving yards. ... TE Hunter Henry entered the week second on the team with 610 yards receiving. He needs 65 yards to set a single-season career high. ... LB Harold Landry leads the Patriots with 7 1/2 sacks.

Fantasy tip

Look for the ball to go to Diggs a lot in this one. He posted a season-high 10 catches for 146 yards in the Patriots’ victory in Buffalo in Week 5. That was also Diggs’ season high for catches and yards.

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