The New England Patriots are set to host the Buffalo Bills in a pivotal Week 15 showdown on Dec. 14.
The AFC East rivalry game was scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, but some thought it would be flexed to primetime. However, Tuesday was the deadline for the NFL to make the swap, and the league opted to keep the Bills vs. Patriots game at 1 p.m. ET.
New England enters its bye week with a record of 11-2 and is atop the AFC East. Buffalo, meanwhile, is 8-4 and set to host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
A Patriots win over the Bills would clinch the division for New England. They have a 2.5 game lead, and with a win, the worst the team can finish is 12-5, and the Patriots would hold the tiebreaker over Buffalo, given the fact that they would have swept the Bills in the season series.
A Bills win, meanwhile, would keep Buffalo’s hopes of winning the division for the sixth-straight season.
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Although the Patriots are on their bye week, head coach Mike Vrabel wants the team to remain focused on the task at hand and can’t get complacent.
“I think you focus,” Vrabel said on Tuesday. “Staying consistent has been something that we’ve tried to do with the message, try to enhance the things that we do well, improve the things that we’re maybe just okay at, and then still finding ways to eliminate the things that get you beat, and then we’ll get back on Monday and start that momentum for the week.
“I think confidence is something that potentially can carry. I think you build momentum through the week in the way that you practice, the way that you correct things, and see things come together. We’ll do it all again (next) Monday.”
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New England is tied for the fifth-best odds of winning the Super Bowl at +1000.
Featured image via Joseph Maiorana/Imagn Images
