Here’s What’s At Stake In Patriots’ Saturday Rematch Against Bills

The New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills are playing at Gillette Stadium again. The teams have already met in the season, and they have played at the stadium in each of the last two Decembers. Everything is the same. New England is 11-3 at this point of the season, and the Buffalo Bills are 10-4. This game will sort of determine the complexion of the AFC playoff field.

“(It’s) humongous. It’s the biggest game of the year,” Patriots safety Duron Harmon said after his team defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 34-13 on Sunday to snap a two-game losing skid and clinch a playoff spot. “It’s for the division. Most likely, it’s going to be for the No. 2 spot in the playoffs. A lot goes into this game, and we know that. But we’re excited for this opportunity. It’s going to be the biggest challenge we’ve had all year. … “It’s a playoff game. It’s a playoff game before the playoffs, and you’ve got to approach it that way.”

Buffalo secured their playoff berth — and their first 10-win season since 1999 — in primetime Sunday, pushing five turnovers in the 17-10 road victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team is still in contention for their first AFC East title since 1995 with two games left in the regular season. This milestone is considered a long shot thanks to the NFL’s tiebreaker procedures. The first tiebreaker between organizations that finish with similar records is head-to-head. New England won their first game with Buffalo 16-10 in Week 4, so a Bills victory on Saturday only would draw it even.

The second tiebreaker is actually divisional games. New England is 4-0 against AFC East teams at the moment. Buffalo is 3-1. Regardless of this game, if Brady’s team defeats the 3-11 Miami Dolphins at home in Week 17, nothing worse can happen.

The third tiebreaker is record in contests against common opponents. New England is 10-1 with their only loss against the Baltimore Ravens. Buffalo is 8-3 with losses to Baltimore, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. As long as Brady defeats the Dolphins in Week 17, they’ll have an expected outcome.




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