Everything you need to know about Patriots-Bills in Week 17

FOXBORO -- For two decades, the Patriots beating the Bills was a foregone conclusion. And on the rare occasion that Buffalo did beat New England, the season usually ended well for the Patriots anyways. 

These days, the Bills have flipped the script a bit. They are no longer the little brother from western New York, and while the Miami Dolphins are the top dogs in the AFC East, the Bills are right there in a wide open AFC.

They're there despite losing to the Patriots, 29-25, at Gillette Stadium in Week 7. That stunning result dropped Buffalo to 4-3 on the season, and the Bills lost two of their next three before firing their offensive coordinator.

The Bills have turned it around as of late, winning three straight and four of their last five. They're now hanging on to the AFC's six-seed at 9-6, but have very little margin for error over the next two weeks.

Enter the Patriots, who can once again play spoiler to the Bills this weekend in Orchard Park. Patriots players don't seem interested in tanking, and they're still playing hard for Bill Belichick. Despite their 4-11 record, they go out each week hungry for a win. 

Here's everything you need to know about Sunday's Patriots-Bills showdown.

Patriots vs. Bills

-Sunday will be the 129th meeting between the Patriots and the Bills, with New England owning a 78-49-1 edge in the overall series. 

The Patriots have swept their season series with the Bills 27 times, but haven't swept their AFC East counterpart since 2019.

-New England's 78 wins over Buffalo are the franchise's highest victory total over any opponent.

-The Patriots have won 37 of the last 47 regular-season meetings against the Bills going back to 2000.

-The Patriots won 15 straight against the Bills from 2003 to 2010, which is tied for the fifth-longest winning streak over a single opponent. The Pats currently have a 15-game winning streak over the New York Jets. The Miami Dolphins' 20-game winning streak over the Bills is the longest winning streak over a single opponent in NFL history.

-The Patriots are 38-25-1 all-time in Buffalo, including 31-19 at Highmark Stadium.

-Bill Belichick is 37-12 against Buffalo over his career, and 37-11 as head coach of the Patriots.

-Sean McDermott is 6-8 against New England.

Patriots-Bills Connections

-Patriots offensive lineman Conor McDermott (currently on IR) and defensive back Alex Austin both spent time in the Buffalo organization. McDermott played two seasons in Buffalo from 2014-19 following his release from New England, and the Bills drafted Austin in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft before cutting him ahead of the regular season.

-Buffalo running back Damien Harris spent his first four NFL seasons in New England before signing with the Bills over the offseason. Harris, who had 20 touchdowns in a Patriots uniform, is currently on IR with a concussion and neck injury.

-Two Bills players went to school locally: Linebacker Matt Milano went to Boston College and receiver Andy Isabella caught passes at UMass Amherst.

Everything else you should know about Patriots-Bills

-The Patriots enter Week 17 with the eighth-ranked defense in the NFL, allowing 306.1 yards per game. 

The Pats are surrendering 21.5 points per game, which ranks 16th in the NFL, while the Buffalo defense is allowing 18.4 points per game to rank fourth in football.

-New England has held opponents to under 3.0 yards per carry six times this season, two games off the franchise record of eight games in both the 1961 and 1968 seasons. 

-The Pats lead the NFL in holding the opposition to just 3.2 yards per carry for the season. The New England run defense ranks second overall in the NFL, holding opponents to just 84.8 rush yards per game. 

-Ja'Whaun Bentley needs just three more tackles for his third straight 100-tackle season.

-Christian Barmore is coming off a three-sack performance against the Broncos -- his career-high for a single game -- and is just 1.5 sacks away from his first 10-sack season.

-Demario Douglas set a new Patriots rookie record for receptions by a receiver under Bill Belichick last week, and now just needs two receiving yards to match Aaron Dobson's 519 receiving yards during the 2013 season, which set the rookie record under Belichick. 

-Punter Bryce Baringer leads the NFL with 35 punts inside the 20-yard line, and needs to put two more kicks inside the 20 to set a new Patriots record. Jake Bailey set the record in 2019 with 36 punts inside the 20-yard line.

-The Buffalo offense enters Sunday averaging 26.9 points scored per game, which is good for sixth in the NFL. The Patriots remain last in the league at 14.1 points per game. Buffalo has scored 48 touchdowns this season to New England's 24.

-Josh Allen is 5-5 against the Patriots, with 18 touchdown passes and three rushing touchdowns to go with eight interceptions and three lost fumbles. 

-The Patriots have punted 85 times this season, tied for the second-most in the NFL. The Bills have punted just 44 times, second-fewest to only to the Cowboys and their 40 punts on the year.