The second matchup of the season between the Bills and Patriots has huge playoff implications.
The Patriots can clinch the AFC East title with a win and Miami loss or tie at New Orleans. If the Bills win they'd be back in first place in the division, hold tiebreakers over the Patriots and Dolphins and be in position to win their second straight title.
Bills receiver Cole Beasley won't play after landing on reserve/COVID-19 list and Emmanuel Sanders' status was uncertain after missing last week with a knee injury. Patriots running back Damien Harris sat out last week's loss to Indianapolis with a hamstring injury and was limited to begin the week of practice.
A key matchup will be the Patriots' Mac Jones, who leads all rookie quarterbacks with 3,168 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, against Buffalo's secondary.
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Jones is coming off a rough outing against the Colts in which he had a pair of bad interceptions and completed 58% of his passes, his second-worst completion percentage of the season. He got away with throwing only three passes in the first outing against Buffalo because of windy and wet conditions, but will likely need to do more this time against the NFL's top-ranked pass defense.
Along with a win plus a Miami loss or tie at New Orleans, there are also multiple combinations in which a Patriots win and losses by the Raiders, Colts, Chargers, Bengals or Ravens would clinch a playoff berth for New England.
