Events

Buffalo Bills looking to avenge loss to Patriots, stake claim to AFC East

New England beat Josh Allen last time, but the conditions are likely to be different for the rematch at Foxborough.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) evades New England Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise (91) as he escapes pressure during the fourth quarter. (Photo by: Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

By Dave D'Onofrio

1 minute to read

Last time the Bills and Patriots met, the big story became the weather. Next time, the big story could be New England’s re-coronation as true kings of the AFC East.

After conquering the wind at Buffalo earlier in December, Bill Belichick and his team will try to finish the job of showing that those weren’t the winds of change blowing through their division last year — and that, rather, it was merely a blustery gust that briefly knocked them off their penthouse perch.

Midway through December, the minimum cost of getting into Gillette Stadium for the Bills game a day after Christmas was more than $100 higher than it was for the game against the Titans that came a few days after Thanksgiving. That would seem to be telling of how much interest there is in this game among fans. And the players figure to be hyped for it, too, considering it could be a so-called hat-and-t-shirt game.

Coming out of their Week 14 bye, the Patriots held a two-game lead over the Bills in the division. (Thanks, Tom!) A Pats loss to the Colts coupled with a Bills win over the Panthers halved that advantage, yet if New England (9-5) beats Buffalo (8-6) a second time, it would clinch at least a tie for the AFC East crown, and the Bills’ reign would be over. Whether or not the Pats would officially clinch would depend on what the Dolphins (7-7) do over Weeks 16, 17, and potentially in a head-to-head meeting during Week 18.

Conversely, a Bills victory at Gillette would significantly tighten up the race. Buffalo also controls its own divisional destiny, as a win in Foxborough would thrust the teams into a tie while eliminating the Pats’ head-to-head tiebreaker advantage.

The game won’t be flexed to primetime, the NFL announced recently, but nevertheless teams across the league will be watching to see if Josh Allen and Sean McDermott can respond to their earlier failures and their extended second-half struggles. Or if Belichick has really done it again.