New England Patriots (10-5) at Buffalo Bills (7-8)
(Sunday, CBS, 1:00 PM ET)
The New England Patriots enters this Sunday’s game having won three straight as it closes out the
NFL 2008 season with a playoff push. With a win over the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots would claim a playoff berth
if either the Miami Dolphins or Baltimore Ravens lose.
The New England Patriots have to win plus rely on other scenarios to clinch the AFC East or an AFC playoff berth.
If the Patriots defeat Buffalo and the
New York Jets defeat the Dolphins, , New England would win the AFC East championship for the sixth straight season
and wind up the third seed in the AFC playoffs. If the Patriots don’t win the AFC East title, they could still
qualify for the playoffs as a wild card team if they beat Buffalo and the Jacksonville Jaguars defeat the Ravens.
Series: Patriots have won the last 10
This Sunday's game between the Bills and Patriots marks the 97th time the teams have met, dating back to September,
1960.
The Patriots lead the overall series against the Bills with 55-40-1 record. At home, the Bills are 21-23-1 against the
Patriots. Last season in Buffalo, the Patriots won 56-10.
The Patriots have won the last 10 games in the series, including four in a row at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium. The
last time the Bills defeated the Patriots at home was a 31-0 win to open the 2003 season.
Earlier this year (11/9/2008), the Patriots defeated the Bills 20-10 at Gillette Stadium, getting 105 rushing yards and a
touchdown from rookie RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis and a solid performance from Matt Cassel en route to their eighth straight home
victory over the Bills.
Matt Cassel completed 23-of-34 passes (67.6 percent) for 234 yards, with 10 receptions going to Wes Welker, who
totaled a season-high 107 receiving yards.
The Patriots got out to a 10-0 lead thanks to a 13-yard touchdown run by QB Matt Cassel early in the first quarter
and a 32-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal early in the second.
The Bills were able to put together an 11-play, 56 yard drive in the middle of the second quarter, helped along by
two third-down passes by QB Trent Edwards. The drive ended with a 25-yard Rian Lindell field goal. The Patriots
led at halftime 10-3.
In the second half, Bills quarterback Trent Edwards threw his second interception late in the third quarter and the
Bills offense struggled to string a drive together.
In the 4th quarter Matt Cassel led the Patriots on a 19-play, 92-yard drive, eating up 9:08 of clock time. The drive
ended in a 1-yard touchdown by BenJarvus Green-Ellis and made the score 20-3 in the Patriots favor.
A late spark was provided by rookie KR Leodis McKelvin, who broke an 85-yard return to set the Bills up on the
Patriots 14-yard line. One play later, rookie WR James Hardy was in the end zone, the recipient of a 14-yard pass
from Edwards. It was the second touchdown catch of Hardy’s career, but it was too little, too late for the Bills.
After Buffalo could not recover the ensuing the onside kick, New England ran out the clock on their 20-10 victory.
The Patriots improved to 6-3 with a 20-10 victory over Buffalo. New England outgained Buffalo 370-168 and
controlled the ball for 37:40.
On defense, Ellis Hobbs and Deltha O’Neal each had interceptions, while Richard Seymour and Ty Warren each had sacks
as the Patriots allowed just 168 total net yards.
NFL 2008 Week 16: New England Patriots 47, Arizona Cardinals 7
The Patriots improved to 10-5 on the season with a 47-7 win over Arizona at home. The Patriots led the Cardinals 14-0
after one quarter, 31-0 at halftime and 44-0 heading to start the 4th quarter.
Matt Cassel completed 20-of-36 passes for 345 yards and three TD passes for a 116.1 passer rating, LaMont
Jordan ran for two touchdowns, while Ellis Hobbs (interception) and Brandon Meriweather (strip-sack) each registered
takeaways for the Patriots defense.
The game was played in snowy conditions and game-time temperature was 30 degrees.
The Patriots defense began the game with a three-and-out and Welker’s 28-yard punt return set
the New England Patriots offense up at the Arizona 33-yard line, where it quickly marched into the end
zone on a 3-yard score by Jordan to take a 7-0 lead. Following that, the Patriots offense again marched down
the field for a TD, driving 55 yards in seven plays to take a 14-0 lead on Jordan’s second TD of the quarter.
The Patriots opened the second-quarter scoring with a 4-play, 50-yard drive that ended in a 15-yard touchdown pass
from Cassel to Faulk that gave the Patriots a 21-0 lead. New England scored again on its next possession to take a
28-0 lead on an 11-yard strike from Cassel to Welker. The Patriots added a Stephen Gostkowski field goal
for a 31-0 lead at halftime.
On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Matt Cassel connected with Randy Moss on a screen
pass that Moss ran all the way to the end zone for a 76-yard score and a 38-0 New England lead.
Three more field goals extended the Patriots lead to 47-0 just seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Arizona Cardinals finallt scored on a 78-yard Larry Fitzgerald touchdown catch with 6:17 left in the
game.
NFL 2008 Week 16: Buffalo Bills 30, Denver Broncos 23
Last week, Buffalo Bills rallied back after trailing 13-0 to score 16 unanswered points and defeat the Broncos in
Denver, 30-23. QB Trent Edwards returned to action and completed 17-of-25 passes for 193 yards with one touchdown.
WR Josh Reed had a career-high with nine catches for 79 yards.
Led by RB Fred Jackson, who scored the game-winning touchdown on an eight-yard run with two minutes remaining in the
game, the Buffalo offense overcame a first quarter that saw them fall behind 13-0. In addition to his game-winning
touchdown, Jackson set up Buffalo's second touchdown of the day with a 65-yard reception from QB Trent Edwards that
put the Bills at the three-yard line. Three plays later, rookie WR Steve Johnson caught his
second touchdown pass of the year from Edwards, which put the Bills ahead 23-20.
RB Marshawn Lynch, scored Buffalo’s first touchdown just before halftime on a two-yard run. Lynch had
34 yards on 11 carries before leaving the game with a shoulder injury.
Despite giving up 532 yards to the Broncos potent offense, the Bills defense came up with big plays when it
had to. S Donte Whitner forced a third-quarter fumble that was recovered by CB Reggie Corner. The turnover
led to K Rian Lindell’s third fi eld goal of the game and put the Bills up 16-13.
After Jackson’s touchdown, with Denver driving deep in Buffalo territory, LB Kawika Mitchell stepped in front of a
pass intended for Denver WR Brandon Marshall and came down with the ball at the Buffalo one-yard line. After the
Bills went three-and-out, the Buffalo defense held again, with Corner breaking up Denver QB Jay Cutler’s fourth-down
pass in the end zone. Corner was credited with a career-high four pass break-ups on the day.
New England Patriots (10-5)
The Patriots are looking for their 12th consecutive December victory. The Patriots are 23-and-2 in December games dating back to the 2003 season. Dating back to mid-December, 2006, the Patriots have won 5 consecutive games against AFC East oppinents on the road. The Patriots are looking for their 11th consecutive win against the Bills In past his 3 games, QB MATT CASSEL has completed 64 of 110 passes (58.2 pct.) for 831 yards with 8 touchdowns vs. 1
INT & 102.5 passer rating. Cassel has 105.6 passer rating vs. division rivals on the road RB SAMMY MORRIS is averaging 102.5 rush yards per game in past 2 (205 total). RB LA MONT JORDAN has 3 rush
touchdowns in past 2 games In 6 career games vs. Bills, RANDY MOSS has averaged 93.3 receiving yards per game & has 4 games with 100 or more
yards (110, 111, 115, 128) against the Buffalo Bills. Since 2007, Randy Moss leads the NFL with 34 TD receptions & has 3
touchdowns in past 2 games WR WES WELKER (1,139) needs 37 receiving yards to surpass career-high of 1,175 in 2007. Since 2007, Welker leads
NFL with 221 receptions DE RICHARD SEYMOUR (7.5) needs 1 sack to surpass career-high (8 in 2003) Rookie LB JEROD MAYO leads the Patriots with 130 tackles this season. CB-KR ELLIS HOBBS ranks 3rd in NFL & 2nd in AFC with 28.5 kick return avg. Hobbs (3 kick return touchdowns) is tied with RAYMOND
CLAYBORN for most kick return touchdowns in Pats history
Buffalo Bills (7-8)
Bills' QB TRENT EDWARDS leads the AFC with 117.0 passer rating in 4th quarters & has Bills record 4 4th-quarter
comebacks in 2008. Team is 10-1 (.909) when Edwards has 80+ passer rating RB MARSHAWN LYNCH is averaging 87.3 rush yards per game in past 6 (524 total). Lynch (1,036) needs 80 rush yards
to surpass his previous career-high. RB FRED JACKSON totaled 113 yards last week (43 rush, 70 receiving) WR LEE
EVANS (954) needs 46 rec. yards to reach 1,000 for 2nd time in career (1,292 in 2006). Evans has rec. in 77 of 79 career
games. Rookie WR STEVE JOHNSON (7th rd., Kentucky) aims for 3rd consecutive game with TD reception T JASON
PETERS was named to 2nd consecutive Pro Bowl Rookie CB-KR LEODIS MC KELVIN (1st rd., No.11) ranks 1st in AFC
& 2nd in NFL with 28.7 kick return avg. McKelvin has franchise record 1,464 kick return yards in 2008.
PREDICTION: Buffalo Bills 20, New England Patriots 14
Heading into the game nothing is in the Buffalo Bills favor as the Patriots have won the 10 past meetings, Bill
Belichick is 15-3 against the Bills and since 2003, the Patriots have compiled a 23-2 (.920)
record in the month of December.
The New England Patriots have won 11 straight December games dating back to 2006, is 3-0 in
December 2008 and went undefeated in December in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007.
So do the Bills win since this an even-numbered year? No.
The Bills spring the upset because they have been playing better the past few weeks and Trent Edward's is healthy.
The end of the NFL 2008 season has seen its share of upsets and this may be the suprise of the NFL's final regular season
Sunday.
However, the Bills defense must contain the Patriots offense from the onset. If the Patriots start marching up and down the
field early, like they did last week against the Cardinals and last year in Buffalo against the Bills, then the Patriots
will coast to easy victory.
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Jets & Dolphins in an Ironic Twist of Fate
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straightforward proposition, win and the Dolphins are AFC East champs. For the Jets, they need to win plus rely on
either the Bills or Jaguars to win.
Ravens Ready to Clinch AFC Playoff Spot
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rookie quarterback Joe Flacco to improve to 10-5. And, if they beat the Jaguars at home this Sunday, the Ravens advance
to the AFC Playoffs.
Win-and-In Opportunity for Cowboys Against Eagles
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the Eagles need to beat the Cowboys and need help in the form of a loss by Tampa Bay, coupled with a loss by either the
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this Sunday can be significant when the Saints host the Carolina Panthers. For the Panthers the NFC's second seed is on the
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NFL 2008 WEEK 17 SCHEDULE (DECEMBER 28)
(All times local)
St. Louis at Atlanta, 1:00 PM
Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 1:00 PM
New England at Buffalo, 1:00 PM
Oakland at Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM
Kansas City at Cincinnati, 1:00 PM
Seattle at Arizona, 4:15 PM
Detroit at Green Bay, 1:00 PM
Jacksonville at Baltimore, 4:15 PM
Chicago at Houston, 1:00 PM
Miami at N.Y. Jets, 4:15 PM
Tennessee at Indianapolis, 1:00 PM
Dallas at Philadelphia, 4:15 PM
N.Y. Giants at Minnesota, 1:00 PM
Washington at San Francisco, 4:15 PM
Carolina at New Orleans, 1:00 PM
Denver at San Diego, 5:15 PM (NBC)
NFL 2008 WEEK 16 RESULTS (DECEMBER 18, 20-22)
(Home team in CAPS)
Indianapolis 31, JACKSONVILLE 24 (Thursday)
Baltimore 33, DALLAS 24 (Saturday)
San Diego 41, TAMPA BAY 24
TENNESSEE 31, Pittsburgh 14
Buffalo 30, DENVER 23
OAKLAND 27, Houston 16
SEATTLE 13, N.Y. Jets 3
Atlanta 24, MINNESOTA 17
Cincinnati 14, CLEVELAND 0
WASHINGTON 10, Philadelphia 3
New Orleans 42, DETROIT 7
Miami 38, KANSAS CITY 31
NEW ENGLAND 47, Arizona 7
San Francisco 17, ST. LOUIS 16
N.Y. GIANTS 34, Carolina 28 (OT)
CHICAGO 20, Green Bay 17 (OT) (Monday)
NFL 2008 WEEK 15 RESULTS – DECEMBER 11, 14-15
(Home Team in Caps)
CHICAGO BEARS 27, New Orleans Saints 24 (OT)
N.Y. JETS 31, Buffalo Bills 27
Seattle Seahawks 23, ST. LOUIS RAMS 20
Minnesota Vikings 35, ARIZONA CARDINALS 14
ATLANTA FALCONS 13, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 (OT)
Pittsburgh Steelers 13, BALTIMORE RAVENS 9
CINCINNATI BENGALS 20, Washington Redskins 13
CAROLINA PANTHERS 30, Denver Broncos 10
HOUSTON TEXANS 13, Tennessee Titans 12
New England Patriots 49, OAKLAND RAIDERS 26
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 31, Detroit Lions 21
DALLAS COWBOYS 20, N.Y. Giants 8
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 20, Green Bay Packers 16
San Diego Chargers 22, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 21
MIAMI DOLPHINS 14, San Francisco 49ers 9
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 30, Cleveland Browns 10
NFL 2008 WEEK 14 RESULTS - DECEMBER 4, 7 - 8
(Home team in CAPS)
SAN DIEGO 34, Oakland 7
Miami 16, BUFFALO 3 (Toronto)
DENVER 24, Kansas City 17
SAN FRANCISCO 24, N.Y. Jets 14
CHICAGO 23, Jacksonville 10
New England 24, SEATTLE 21
Minnesota 20, DETROIT 16
ARIZONA 34, St. Louis 10
Houston 24, GREEN BAY 21
PITTSBURGH 20, Dallas 13
INDIANAPOLIS 35, Cincinnati 3
BALTIMORE 24, Washington 10
NEW ORLEANS 29, Atlanta 25
Philadelphia 20, N.Y. GIANTS 14
TENNESSEE 28, Cleveland 9
CAROLINA 38, Tampa Bay 23
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