What You Need to Know About the Patriots' Week 8 Game Against the Buffalo Bills

The New England Patriots improved to 6-1 with a 27-16 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week and will be on the road for the second straight week when they travel to Buffalo to face the Bills. The Patriots will attempt to avenge a 16-0 shutout loss to Buffalo in the first meeting of the season on Oct. 2 at Gillette Stadium and avoid a season sweep. New England has not been swept by a division opponent in 15 seasons, the longest such streak since the 1970 NFL merger. The LA Rams (1970-80) and Dallas Cowboys (1971-81) previously held

the mark with 11 consecutive seasons without being swept.

QB Tom Brady has a 25-3 record against Buffalo. He has more wins against the Bills than another team and his 25 wins are the second most by a quarterback against an opponent.

To help you get ready for the game, here's what you need to know:

Kickoff

Sunday's game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.

Broadcast Information

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play duties with Dan Fouts as the color analyst. Evan Washburn will work the sidelines. The game will be produced by Mark Wolff and directed by Bob Fishman.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience on Sports USA. Larry Kahn and Mark Carrier will call the game. Troy West will work the sidelines.

LOCAL 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. Produced by Marc Cappello.

Series History

The Patriots and Bills will meet for the 114th time and for the second of two meetings in 2016. Buffalo beat the Patriots 16-0 in the first meeting of the season, shutting out the Patriots for the first time at Gillette stadium on Oct. 2, 2016.It is the first time the Patriots and Bills will play each of the two annual games in the same month since the 1998 season.

The Patriots have gone 15 straight seasons without being swept by a division opponent and will attempt to keep the streak alive with a victory this Sunday.

New England holds a 69-43-1 edge in the series. The Patriots swept the series last season for the 24th time with a 40-32 win at Buffalo on Sept 20, 2015 and a 20-13 win at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 23, 2015.

New England’ has swept the series 24 times. The Patriots have won 28 of the last 33 games between the clubs, dating back to the 2000 season.

The series between the AFC East rivals began in 1960. The Patriots’ 69 wins over the Bills are their highest victory total over any opponent, ten more than they own over the New York Jets (59).

After seven straight series sweeps and 15 straight Patriots wins, Buffalo ended the streak with a 34-31 victory at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the first meeting of the two teams in 2011 on Sept. 25. The 15-game win streak is the third 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

As of Saturday afternoon, here's what the oddsmakers have to say about the game, according to ESPN.

• Westgate: Patriots favored by 6.5
• BOVADA.lv: Patriots favored by 7
• BETONLINE.ag: Patriots favored by 6
• SportsBetting.ag: Patriots favored by 6
• 5Dimes.eu: Patriots favored by 6

Expert Picks

• ESPN.com: Experts pick Patriots 8-1
• Bejnamin Hoffman, New York Times: Patriots
• Kevin Clark, The Ringer: Patriots
• CBSSports.com: Experts pick Patriots 8-0
• Chris Burke, Sports Illustrated:Patriots 28, Bills 20
• USA Today: Experts pick Patriots 5-0

Information in this article was provided by Patriots Media Relations