Bills-Patriots Capsule

By AP
Published

BILLS (8-6) at PATRIOTS (11-3)

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS

OPENING LINE - Patriots by 12

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Patriots 9-5, Bills 8-5-1

SERIES RECORD - Patriots lead 71-43-1

LAST MEETING - Patriots beat Bills 23-3, Dec. 3

LAST WEEK - Patriots beat Steelers 27-24; Bills beat Dolphins 24-16

AP PRO32 RANKING - Patriots No. 1, Bills No. 15

BILLS OFFENSE - OVERALL (29), RUSH (6), PASS (32)

BILLS DEFENSE - OVERALL (23), RUSH (25), PASS (17)

PATRIOTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (2), RUSH (16), PASS (1)

PATRIOTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (29), RUSH (26), PASS (29)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Teams meeting for 116th time and second this season. ... Patriots wrapped up ninth consecutive AFC East title with last week's win over Pittsburgh. They can lock up first-round bye this week with win combined with either Pittsburgh or Jacksonville loss. If Patriots win and both of those teams lose, New England will secure home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs. ... Bills are in contention to break 17-year playoff drought, and would not be eliminated with loss to Patriots. Drought is longest active streak in North America's four major professional sports. ... In NFL terms, Bills are tied for having fifth-longest drought, and longest since NFL merger in 1970. ... Buffalo has won its last two games to keep playoff hopes alive. In those two victories, its six drives into red zone produced five TDs and field goal. ... RB LeSean McCoy leads Bills with 1,057 yards rushing and six TDs. He also has two receiving TDs. In all, he's accounted for eight of 26 TDs scored by Bills on offense, and his 1,407 yards from scrimmage (including 350 receiving) make up 33 percent of net yards Buffalo has produced. ... WR Kelvin Benjamin had 104 yards receiving in only career game against Patriots (10/1/17 with Carolina). ... S Micah Hyde had career-high 12 tackles in last meeting with Patriots. ... Rookie CB Tre'Davious White had INT in last meeting. He has three INTs in Bills' past four games. ... Buffalo is 7-2 when it tops 100 yards rushing. ... New England has won at least 12 games 11 times in team history, including seven straight. ... Patriots' 71 wins over Bills are most against any one opponent. ... This is TE Rob Gronkowski's first game against Bills since he served one-game suspension for late hit to head of White. Gronk was AFC Offensive Player of Week for his performance in win over Pittsburgh. He had nine receptions for career-high 168 yards. It pushed his 2017 total to 1,017 yards - his fourth 1,000-yard season. ... QB Tom Brady leads NFL with 4,163 pass yards and ranks third with 104.0 passer rating. ... Brady has 27-3 regular-season record against Bills, his highest win total over any opponent. He's also thrown for more touchdowns (66) against Bills than any other opponent. ... RB Dion Lewis has 230 scrimmage yards (115 per game) with rushing TD in past two games against Buffalo. He leads team with career-high 674 yards rushing. ... WR Brandin Cooks has three touchdowns catches in past five games. ... S Duron Harmon has three INTs in past five games. ... LB Elandon Roberts has two sacks and forced fumble in Patriots' past two home games against division opponents. ... Fantasy Tip: In five career games against New England, McCoy has 510 scrimmage yards (102 per game) with three TDs (two rushing, one receiving).

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