Patriots at Bills: Kickoff Time, How To Watch, And More

The New England Patriots improved to a 9-2 record and secured their 17th consecutive
season above .500 to move past the San Francisco 49ers (16 seasons, 1983-98) and the Dallas Cowboys (16 seasons, 1970-85) for the most consecutive winning seasons since the 1970 NFL merger. The Patriots now have 32 winning seasons since the merger, second only to the 35 winning seasons by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On Sunday, the Patriots begin a three-game road trip when they travel to Buffalo. It will be the first of two meetings between the teams. New England will host the Bills at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 24. Last season, the two teams split the annual series with Buffalo winning 16-0 at Gillette Stadium and the Patriots winning 41-25 in Buffalo.

Here's what you need to know about Sunday's game:

Broadcast Information

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Jim Nantz will handle play-by-play duties with Tony Romo as the color analyst. Tracy Wolfson will work from the sidelines. The game will be produced by Jim Rikhoff and directed by Mike Arnold.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience by Compass Media Group. Jerry Recco and Brian Baldinger will call the game.

RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. 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.

Series History

The Patriots and Bills will meet for the 115th time and for the first of two meetings in 2017. The teams will meet in New England on Dec. 24.

It is the second season in a row that the two teams will square off in the same month. In 2016, the two played both of their annual games in the month of October. Buffalo beat New England 16-0 at Gillette on Oct. 2 and then the Patriots won the rematch on Oct. 30 at Buffalo, 41-25.

New England holds a 70-43-1 edge in the series. New England has swept the series 24 times. The Patriots have won 29 of the last 34 games between the clubs, dating back to the 2000 season.

The series between the AFC East rivals began in 1960. The Patriots’ 70 wins over the Bills are their highest victory total over any opponent, ten more than they own over the New York Jets (61).

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 on Sept. 25. 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 on Jan. 1, 2012 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 five-game span from 1999 to 2001 where four of the five contests were decided in overtime.

The Betting Line
Here's what the odds makers have to say about Sunday night's game via ESPN.com:

• Westgate - New England by +8.5 points.
• Caesar's - New England by +8.5 points.
• William Hill - New England by +9 points.
• Wynn - New England by +8 points.
• GG Technology - New England by +8.5 points.
• Unibet - New England by +8.5 points.

What The Experts Say

• ESPN.com - All 10 expects pick Patriots
• CBSSports.com - Seven of eight experts pick Patriots
• Pro Football Talk - Michael David Smith: Patriots 35, Bills 21.; Mike Florio: Patriots 27, Bills 14.
• Benjamin Hoffman, New York Times - Patriots (Against the spread)
• Sports Illustrated - Four of six experts pick Patriots (Against the spread)
• FiveThirtyEight - New England favored by 73 percent

Some information in this article was provided by Patriots Media Relations

Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images