Week 10: Bills vs. Patriots
at
Sunday, Nov. 9th
1:00pm ET
The Bills are reeling as they head to their house of horrors to face the team they see in their nightmares. The Bills and Patriots battle it out as two of the three teams tied for first place in the AFC East. It really tightened up with the Bills losing two straight division matchups while the Patriots are coming off a tough loss in Indianapolis. New England has won nine in a row against the Bills and have never lost to Buffalo at Gillette Stadium in six contests.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Matchup: Buffalo (5-3) vs. New England (5-3)
Place: Gillette Stadium
Television: CBS
Announcers: Dick Enberg and Randy Cross
Spread: Patriots by 4
Series: Patriots lead 55-40-1 (Bills 0-1 in playoffs)
Streak: Patriots Won 9
Last Meeting: Patriots 56-10 in Buffalo (2007)
Patriots Offense: Rush (7th); Pass (23rd); overall (18th)
Patriots Defense: Rush (15th); Pass (17th); overall (14th)
Bills Offense: Rush (26th); Pass (12th); overall (20th)
Bills Defense: Rush (12th); Pass (15th); overall (12th)


INJURY UPDATE

The Bills injury list is getting longer and more severe. They will be without two important cogs on defense as Aaron Schobel and Donte Whitner will miss the game. Schobel will miss his fourth straight game with a toe injury while Whitner separated his shoulder in the loss to the Jets last week. Josh Reed remains out with a strained Achilles. The team hopes to get Ashton Youboty back as he has been out with a foot injury. Brad Butler has missed two games with a sprained MCL and has a small chance of returning this week but is likely another week away. His return is important because his backup Jason Whittle is nicked up.

The Patriots are very banged up as well besides losing QB Tom Brady for the season on opening day. Last week, in their loss to the Colts, they played without RBs Sammy Morris (knee) and LaMont Jordan (calf); both players are questionable at best for this week's game. WR Matt Slater is in the same situation with an ankle injury. On the defensive side they are hurting as well, DL Jarvis Green (ankle) and LE Eric Alexander (hamstring) both didn't play last week and will be questionable at best this week as well. LB Shawn Crable (shin) has been placed on IR. CB Lewis Sanders (hamstring) will very likely miss this week's game. CB Terrence Wheatley left the Colts game with a hand injury and did not return.
Bills Daily Injury Page

KEY MATCHUPS

CB Terrence McGee vs. WR Randy Moss:
McGee will be the man to take on Moss, a man that killed the Bills last year. With Brady out though Moss hasn't been the big play receiver he was with the short passing Matt Cassel at the controls.

CB Jabari Greer vs. WR Wes Welker:
Moss gets all the press on the other side but Welker is the possession receiver that will go into the slot in the short passing game that has killed the Bills in recent weeks. Look for Greer to play some press coverage to try and slow it down.

DE Chris Kelsay vs. RT Nick Kaczur:
It is about time Kelsay begins to play up to his big contract. With Schobel possibly out for the rest of the season, Kelsay becomes the number one pass rusher and he needs to start getting some pressure on the quarterback.

LT Jason Peters vs. DE Richard Seymour and OLB Adalius Thomas:
Peters has not been the same player all year and you can't blame it on the holdout anymore since the season is half over. He will have his hands full as both Thomas and Seymour come from his side and have combined for nine sacks this season. If they gets some hits on Trent Edwards from the blind side than he might get a bit jumpy and it could be another long day.

RB Marshawn Lynch vs. LB Jerod Mayo:
The rookie Mayo has had a much bigger impact than the player taken just behind him, Leodis McKelvin. He leads the team in tackles and he will be the guy to wrap up Lynch if he can get past the front four.

C Duke Preston vs. NT Vince Wilfork:
Preston faces the fourth straight big time nose tackle in a row as the Bills face another 3-4 defense. He did well against the first two but was made to look like a rag doll last week by Kris Jenkins against the Jets. If Wilfork disrupts the middle of the defense, like he is very capable of, it will be another long day for the Bills offense.

GAME PLAN

When The Bills Have The Ball: Look for the Bills to finally try to establish a running game. If it doesn't work early they will keep at it something they have not done the past few weeks. They need to keep pressure off of Trent Edwards and the running game is the way to do it.

When The Patriots Have The Ball: They will attack the Bills the way teams have in the last month with the short passing game. Luckily for them this is the type of game Cassel plays as he is not considered a gunslinger. They will try to dink and dunk the ball down the field the way the Jets and Dolphins did the past two weeks.

BILLS DAILY PREDICTION

This may be the easiest game to call this year. Even though the Patriots aren't the same without Brady they still have Bill Belichick on the sidelines and he always has a good gameplan for the Bills. Confidence is at a low point inside the Bills locker room and playing a team they never beat with some critical injuries, including the heart and soul of the defense, doesn't bode well. Look for the Bills to lose their third straight inside the division which will put their playoff hopes in extreme jeopardy:
Patriots 26, Bills 10

Season Prediction Record: (6-2)
Season Record Against The Spread: (6-2)

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