Patriots-Bills Week 17 Predictions
BOSTON (CBS) -- The 98.5 The Sports Hub, WBZ-TV and WBZ NewsRadio 1030 sports teams make their predictions for Sunday's Patriots-Bills game at Gillette Stadium.
Scott Zolak, 98.5 The Sports Hub
I'd like to congratulate the Bills for entertaining us with another year with a different quarterback. I can't wait for the offseason to see who their next quarterback will be.
I do respect their defense though, and that is a pretty tough unit. They're going to come in and fight, and this will be a tough one for New England. I think it will be closer than the score indicates.
But the Patriots close out the season with a win. Celebrate September, Buffalo!
Patriots 33, Bills 20
Read: Buffalo Bills Opponent Profile
Andy Gresh, 98.5 The Sports Hub
The Bills suck, their fans are idiots and they think they can come in here with a podunk Uncle Rico-looking quarterback and get a win. That isn't going to happen.
Bills Mafia can sleep well knowing they'll end up with eight wins, and they should throw a parade for themselves. They can wrap themselves in the blanket of stats that their defense allegedly made them elite.
By the way, they traded their first round pick this year and aren't going to make the playoffs. How brilliant of a move was that? Enjoy, Bills Mafia.
Jon Wallach, 98.5 The Sports Hub
The Buffalo Bills looked good for a long time this season, but you can't get around that Kyle Orton is their quarterback. The Patriots defense will shut him down on Sunday and they'll wrap up the season just right.
The Bills defense is good, but the offense isn't even close to good enough.
Patriots 30, Bills 14
Steve Burton, WBZ-TV Sports
The Patriots win even the meaningless games, meaning they'll beat Buffalo to close out the regular season and keep their record perfect at home.
It would be nice to see the offense get back on track, but please, no injuries in this one.
Patriots 28, Bills 17
Dan Roche, WBZ-TV Sports
This one is tough to predict due to the Patriots clinching the top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs earlier in the week. How much playing time the starters get could impact the outcome significantly. There's no question the Pats would like to get to 13-3 on the season, however the Bills will present a challenge. Buffalo's defense is as good as anyone's in the league, plus it's a divisional game. Those are never easy, as we've already seen five times this season.
Patriots 23, Bills 20
Tale of the Tape: Patriots vs. Bills
Levan Reid, WBZ-TV Sports
The Patriots can't improve their seeding, so I guess the big question is why play? Here's why.
New England can't roll into their playoff game with three weeks off. This game against Buffalo is the perfect game for the Pats; a division game, a team that has a great defense and can test the New England offense. Buffalo will put up a fight, as they haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in a game this season.
Here's what the Pats need to do: 1. Stay healthy and 2. stay healthy. In fact, Rob Gronkowski, Darrelle Revis, Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, Stephen Gostkowski and Jamie Collins, those guys may need to wrap themselves in bubble wrap and stay away from contact.
I understand that's not going to happen, but this should be treated like a fourth preseason game. Let the players get some work in, and then get out with all your fingers and toes.
The Pats will want to finish the regular season undefeated at home, so I expect them to win this game. But again, STAY HEALTHY!!!
Patriots 30, Bills 10
Adam Kaufman, WBZ NewsRadio 1030/98.5 The Sports Hub
Does it matter? Really, the answer's no. Whether the Patriots finish 13-3 or 12-4, they've already locked up the top seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.
The only important detail here is health. New England's most important players, in whatever the order, are Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Darrelle Revis. All three should enjoy limited snaps on Sunday, if they play at all. There's no way Julian Edelman plays, when he could give his bruised brain a three-week stretch without getting hit in the head. For the Pats, this weekend's match-up with an improved, but inferior, Bills squad should be treated like a preseason game. In other words, a win would be great but a loss certainly wouldn't warrant pre-playoff panic.
Patriots 24, Bills 17
Tune in to Sunday's Patriots-Bills game on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV — the flagship stations of the New England Patriots! Pregame coverage begins at 10am on the Sports Hub, and at 11:30am on WBZ-TV with Patriots GameDay. Stay tuned after the game on 98.5 for three hours of postgame coverage, and catch Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's press conferences live over on myTV38 on Patriots 5th Quarter.
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