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Game Preview: Patriots at Bills

The New England Patriots travel to Buffalo for a divisional game against the Bills.

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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (5-2) AT BUFFALO BILLS (2-5)
Monday, Oct. 29, 2018 at 8:15 p.m. ET. New Era Field (71,870)

The New England Patriots, coming off three consecutive victories, will travel to Buffalo to face the Bills on Monday Night Football. This week's game will be the fourth meeting between the two teams on Monday Night Football and the first matchup in Buffalo. The Patriots hosted Buffalo on Monday night in 1995, 2009 and 2015. New England is 3-0 against Buffalo on Monday night.

Tom Brady is 28-3 all-time against Buffalo. His 28 wins against the Bills are the most ever by a quarterback against a single team. He is 14-2 in games played in Buffalo.

Brady has 48 touchdown passes on Monday Night Football, the fourth-most in NFL history, behind Dan Marino (74), Brett Favre (69) and Drew Brees (50).

UNDEFEATED MONTHS

New England has 24 undefeated months since 2000, the most in the NFL over that span. Indianapolis is second with 15 undefeated months during that span. The Patriots enter this week's matchup against Buffalo with a 3-0 mark so far this month.

SERIES HISTORY

New England and Buffalo will meet for the 117th time overall and for the first of two meetings in 2018 in Buffalo on Monday Night Football. The Patriots will host the Bills at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 23.

The Patriots earned their 25th series sweep last season after a 23-3 win at New Era Field on Dec. 3 followed by a 37-16 win at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 24.

New England holds a 72-43-1 edge in the series. The Patriots have won 31 of the last 36 games between the clubs, dating back to 2000.

The series between the AFC East rivals began in 1960. The Patriots 72 wins over the Bills are their highest victory total over any opponent, 10 more than they own over the New York Jets.

After seven straight series sweeps and 15 straight Patriots wins from 2003-10, Buffalo ended the streak with a 34-31 victory at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the first meeting between the teams in 2011. The 15-game win streak is tied for the fourth longest winning streak over a single opponent in NFL history. The Patriots avenged that loss in the 2011 regular-season finale by overcoming a 21-0 first quarter deficit and scoring 49 unanswered points en route to a 49-21 victory.

The teams have had many memorable matchups over the years, including a span from 1999 to 2001 where four-of-five contests were decided in overtime.

The Patriots first-ever playoff game was a 26-8 win over the Bills at Buffalo on Dec. 28, 1963.

TALE OF THE TAPE

2018 Regular Season New England Buffalo
Record 5-2 2-5
Divisional Standings 1st 4th
Total Yards Gained 2,668 1,638
Total Offense (Rank) 381.1 (10) 234.0 (31)
Rush Offense 120.9 (13) 104.6 (19)
Pass Offense 260.3 (14) 129.4 (32)
Points Per Game 30.6 (4) 11.6 (32)
Total Yards Allowed 2,729 2,246
Total Defense (Rank) 389.9 (25) 320.9 (4)
Rush Defense 114.0 (21) 110.7 (16)
Pass Defense 275.9 (25) 210.1 (4)
Points Allowed/Game 25.6 (20) 25.0 (16)
Possession Avg. 30:09 29:29
Sacks Allowed/Yards Lost 9/54 26/186
Sacks Made/Yards 9/68 19/101
Total Touchdowns Scored 25 7
Penalties Against/Yards 33/270 54/428
Punts/Avg. 25/46.6 41/44.6
Turnover Differential +1 (15t)

SERIES BREAKDOWN

Home Record, 37-21

  • Record in Foxborough, 31-16
  • Foxboro Stadium, 17-14
  • Gillette Stadium, 14-2
  • Record in Boston, 6-5

Road Record, 35-22-1

  • War Memorial Stadium, 7-6-1
  • Ralph Wilson/Rich Stadium/New Era, 28-16

Largest Margin of Victory ..........................................................46 points (2007)

Largest Margin of Defeat .......................................................... 35 points (1970)

Longest Win Streak ..........................................................15 games (2003-2010)

Bill Belichick vs. Buffalo ..........................................................31-7 (31-5 with NE)

Sean McDermott vs. New England ..................................................................0-2

QUICK HITS

  • The Patriots have recorded 72 wins over the Bills, the most by the Patriots against any one opponent. The Jets are second with 63 wins.
  • The Buffalo Bills snapped a streak of 13 straight home wins by the Patriots, including 12 straight wins by the Patriots at Gillette Stadium with their 17-9 win in the 2014 regular-season finale on Dec. 28, 2014.
  • Bill Belichick has a 84-29 (.743) all-time regular-season record against the AFC East as head coach of the Patriots.

STREAKING SUCCESS

The Patriots won 15 straight games against the Buffalo Bills from 2003 through 2010, tied for the fourth-longest winning streak over a single opponent in NFL history.

BILL BELICHICK ON MONDAY NIGHT

Bill Belichick is 18-11 all-time on Monday Night Football, including 17-8 as head coach of the Patriots. Belichick is 8-7 on the road on Monday and 9-1 at home.

BRADY BEATS BUFFALO

Tom Brady owns a 28-3 record against the Buffalo Bills. Brady's 28 wins against Buffalo are the most wins by a quarterback against a single opponent.

BRADY VS. BUFFALO

Tom Brady has led the Patriots to 28 regular-season victories over the Bills, his highest victory total over any opponent. Additionally, Brady has thrown more touchdown passes (68) against Buffalo than any other opponent. He has 60 touchdowns against the Dolphins and 48 against the Jets. Brady also has more 300-yard games (10) against Buffalo than any other NFL team. He has seven 300-yard games against Miami.

TOM BRADY ON MONDAY NIGHT

QB Tom Brady owns a 15-7 record when playing on Monday Night Football. His best statistical performance came in the 2011 season-opener when he completed 32-of-48 pass attempts for 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker in the win at Miami. Brady has thrown three or more touchdowns in a Monday Night game 10 times, including four four-touchdown performances.

MONDAY NIGHT PASSING PARTY

Brady has 48 touchdown passes on Monday Night Football, the fourthmost in Monday Night Football history, behind Dan Marino (74) , Brett Favre (69) and Drew Brees (50).

IF THE PATRIOTS WIN...

  • The Patriots will improve to 73-43-1 all-time against the Bills.
  • The Patriots will move to 75-50 in primetime games, including an even 25-25 mark on Monday Night Football.
  • The Patriots will record their 25th undefeated month since 2000, the most in the NFL over that span. Indianapolis is second with 15 undefeated months. The Patriots will also improve to 61-18 (.772) in the month of October since the 2000 season, an NFL best during that time.
  • The Patriots will earn their 100th win on the road since 2000, improving to 100-48 (.676). They will also improve to 123-73 (.628) since the start of the 1994 season when Robert Kraft purchased the team, which is the best regular-season road record in the NFL in that time.
  • Tom Brady will improve his record against the Buffalo Bills to 29-3. His 28 wins against the Bills are the most ever by a quarterback against a single team in NFL history.
  • Tom Brady will earn his 15th victory in Buffalo, breaking a tie with Tyrod Taylor and Drew Bledsoe for third-most wins in Buffalo by any quarterback in New Era Field/Ralph Wilson Stadium history. Jim Kelly is first with 59 wins in Buffalo and Joe Ferguson is second with 46.
  • It will mark the 202nd regular-season win of Tom Brady's career, taking sole possession of third place on the all-time regular season wins list.
  • Bill Belichick will earn his 100th career victory as a head coach (CLE/ NE) against a division opponent, becoming the third coach since the 1970 merger to reach 100 division wins.
  • And score 40 or more points, Bill Belichick will improve to 40-0 since 2000 when leading the Patriots to a 40-point outing.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR...

  • With two touchdown passes, Tom Brady can tie Drew Brees (50) for third-most TD passes on Monday Night Football in NFL history.
  • If the Patriots score 21 or more points in the first half, they will set a new franchise record with their fifth consecutive 21-plus-point performance in the opening half of a game.
  • If the Patriots defense snags at least one interception against the Bills, it will mark the first time the team has recorded an interception in eight-straight games since 2013. The franchise record for consecutive games with an interception in one season is 12 in 2003.
  • If Tom Brady throws four touchdown passes, he will tie Brett Favre for second-most regular-season touchdown passes all-time with 508. Peyton Manning is first with 539 touchdown passes.
  • Tom Brady needs 11 yards rushing to reach 1,000 rushing yards in his career.
  • With 124 passing yards against the Bills, Tom Brady will reach 2,000 yards passing on the season. He is on pace for 4,288 yards this year. If he reaches the 4,000-yard mark in 2018, he will do so for the 10th time in his career.
  • If Julian Edelman has one punt return of 30 or more yards, he will tie Troy Brown for most 30-yard punt returns in team history.
  • James White, who is averaging more than six receptions per game, is on pace to reach 103 receptions on the season, which would be the NFL record for a running back. Entering Week 8, White has 45 catches for 380 yards and six touchdowns.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by ESPN and can be seen locally on WCVB-TV Channel 5. Joe Tessitore will handle play-by-play duties with Jason Witten as the color analyst. Booger McFarland and Lisa Salters will work from the sidelines. The game will be produced by Jay Rothman and directed by Chip Dean.

NATIONAL RADIO: Monday's game will be broadcast to a national audience on Westwood One. Kevin Harlan will call the game with Ross Tucker providing analysis.

LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 41 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. The games are produced by Marc Cappello.

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