The New England Patriots will host the Buffalo Bills for an AFC East divisional clash on Sunday.
In one of the biggest games of the season, the Patriots will be looking to clinch the AFC East, while the Bills hope to play the role of spoiler and retake the division.
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This will either be a revenge game or a changing of the guard. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye and the Patriots upset Josh Allen and the Bills at Orchard Park in Week 5. This will be an opportunity for the Bills to return the favor and stay in the hunt for the AFC East throne.
The Patriots will be coming off a bye week, which means they should be well-rested for this game. In their last outing, they dominated at home in a 33-15 win over the New York Giants. Meanwhile, the Bills handled their business in an offensive shootout with the Cincinnati Bengals. Allen was the biggest difference in the end to help the Bills come away with a 39-34 victory.
The story of the first game was the Patriots’ ability to shut down Buffalo’s run game. However, the Patriots have been among the worst teams in the league against the run over the last three games. They have allowed an average of 123.7 rushing yards over that time span.
On the other side of the ball, the Patriots won’t have left tackle Will Campbell for this matchup, but they will get their starting left guard, Jared Wilson back. They will also get defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga back on the field. So they could be more formidable in the trenches.
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But containing Allen will be key. Can the defense play disciplined enough to force mistakes and shut down easy scrambling lanes for the mobile quarterback?
Here are the final predictions from the Patriots Wire staff:
Danny Jaillet: Patriots 31, Bills 28
Jordy McElroy: Patriots 28, Bills 31
Sophie Weller: Patriots 24, Bills 21
Jacob Rebb: Patriots 28, Bills 24
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots Wire staff predictions for Patriots-Bills Week 15 game