All the New England Patriots have to do to clinch a playoff spot outright in Week 18 is to beat the Buffalo Bills. That is easier said than done, of course, as the Bills remain one of the strongest teams in the NFL. But can the Bills dig deep and put up a quality performance after an extremely distressing Week 17? Check out our preview of this Patriots vs Bills game in Week 18 of the 2022 NFL regular season.
The Patriots are coming off a 23-21 win over the Miami Dolphins at home in Week 17. Mac Jones led the way for the Pats in that game with 204 passing yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions on 20/33 completions. Jones is used to high-pressure games since he played in plenty of those back when he was still with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Jones also passed for 195 yards and a touchdown with zero interceptions on 22/36 completions in a 24-10 home loss to Buffalo in Week 13. It’s New England’s defense, though, which will be the key for the Patriots. They have a top-five scoring defense and a top-10 total defense.
The Under is 4-1 in the Patriots’ last 5 games against AFC East teams.
It’s going to be tough for Buffalo to gather enough strength to face New England this coming Sunday. If anything, at least they’ll be playing at home where they will feel the full support of their fans. Buffalo has been undefeated since Week 10’s loss at home to the Minnesota Vikings. During their current undefeated run, excluding the Bengals game, the Bills have averaged 144 rushing yards per game and 5.4 yards per carry. Their rushing was a problem for New England the first time out and it could be again on Sunday. Buffalo generated 132 rushing yards and a touchdown on 37 carries in Week 13 versus the Patriots.
The Bills are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games versus New England.
