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Buffalo @ New England
Current Records: Buffalo 8-3; New England 6-5
The New England Patriots lost both of their matches to the Buffalo Bills last season on scores of 21-33 and 17-47, so they’re hoping to turn the tables this season. They will face off against one another at 8:15 p.m. ET Thursday at Gillette Stadium. These two teams have allowed few points on average (the Patriots 18.36, Buffalo 18.09), so any points scored will be well earned.
It looks like New England got the smaller half of the wishbone at Thanksgiving dinner. They took a 33-26 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings. The matchup was a 16-16 toss-up at halftime, but New England was outplayed the rest of the way. New England’s defeat came about despite a quality game from QB Mac Jones, who passed for two TDs and 382 yards on 39 attempts.
Most of the squad’s points came courtesy of special teams, which contributed 14. K Nick Folk delivered a perfect 4-for-4 game.
As for Buffalo, they can’t say they have nothing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week. They skirted past the Detroit Lions 28-25. Buffalo’s QB Josh Allen did his thing and passed for two TDs and 253 yards on 42 attempts in addition to rushing for one TD and 78 yards. Allen ended up with a passer rating of 118.70.
The Patriots are expected to lose this next one by 3.5. Those burned by picking them against the spread last Thursday might want to keep in mind that the squad has not yet dropped back-to-back games against the spread this season.
New England is now 6-5 while the Bills sit at 8-3. A couple numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: New England enters the game with only 307.8 yards allowed per game on average, good for fourth best in the league. But Buffalo comes into the contest boasting the second most yards per game in the NFL at 415.9. These opposing strengths should make for an exciting matchup.
The Bills are a 3.5-point favorite against the Patriots, according to the latest NFL odds.
Bettors have moved against the Bills slightly, as the game opened with the Bills as a 5.5-point favorite.
Over/Under: -110
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New England have won ten out of their last 15 games against Buffalo.
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