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The New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills will meet one more time this season in a game that could potentially decide the AFC East title.
That Week 16 meeting between New England and Buffalo had not been given a date or time as the NFL waited to possibly flex some of its games to a Saturday spotlight.
#BUFvsNE has been scheduled for Saturday, December 21, at 4:30 PM on @nflnetwork & @wbzsports.
The Patriots will be hosting a rare Saturday contest at Gillette Stadium as the Bills visit on December 21 for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff as part of a Saturday triple-header for the NFL. The Patriots and Bills are the second game on the schedule that day, following Houston vs Tampa Bay. The day will conclude with a matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers that could potentially decide the NFC West.
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New England hosted a Saturday game during the 2016 season when the league moved most of its contests to December 24 to avoid a heavy slate of matchups on Christmas Day. New England walloped the visiting New York Jets on Christmas Eve, earning a 41-3 victory in a game where Tom Brady was pulled midway through the third quarter.
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Saturday Night’s Alright for Brady
Saturday games are a rarity in the NFL, usually happening either late in the season or in the first two rounds of the playoffs. When playing on that day, the Patriots have been pretty good with Tom Brady under center.
In his career, Brady is a perfect 7-0 on Saturday. His passer rating is the best of any day, 109.5, and he has thrown 16 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Including postseason play, the Patriots last played on a Saturday night at home against the Tennessee Titans in the 2017 AFC Divisional Round, earning a 35-7 victory. Brady shined in that game, going 35 for 53 with 337 yards and three touchdowns.
Another Short Week for New England
With New England taking the field a day earlier in Week 16, it will be the third time this season the Patriots play on a shortened rest.
The Patriots played on Thursday in Week 6 against the New York Giants at home, walking away with a 35-14 win against their NFC rival. The Patriots were noticeably banged up in that game and only added to their list of injured players when Matt LaCosse, Josh Gordon, Patrick Chung, and Jakob Johnson all went down with injuries in that game.
In Week 7, the Patriots played on Monday night at the New York Jets, leading to a shortened week to prepare for their Week 8 encounter with the Cleveland Browns. While New England was able to hold off the Browns, they were without several players who may have been available had the schedule not been out of the ordinary over the weeks prior.
If any team isn’t one to make excuses, it’s the Patriots. New England will, once again, face a tall task with a very strong Bills squad making the visit and losing a day to prepare only adds to the challenge.
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