One of the best Monday Night Football games of the season takes place tonight. The New England Patriots, who have the No. 1 seed in the AFC, will do battle against the Buffalo Bills for the top spot in the AFC East. The game will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN. It will also air on ESPN 2 with Peyton and Eli Manning hosting their Manningcast. Fans can stream the game on ESPN.com, the ESPN APP, NFL App and Yahoo Sports App.
Don’t look now, but the Patriots (8-4) are the hottest team in the NFL as they have won their last six games. Rookie quarterback Mac Jones has been a steady hand all season long, completing 70% of his passes for 2,850 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The defense has also been strong for the Patriots, allowing just 26 points in the last four games. Linebacker Matthew Judon is having an All-Pro type of season, recording 12 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.
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“I think people who love football want to get a chance to play in games like these,” Jones said to reporters last week, per the Patriots’ official website. “I know all the guys on both teams want to play in games like this. It’ll be a great experience. I know they have a bunch of great fans, and it’s football, so you’ve just got to go out there and play the game that we’ve all played since we were little kids.”
The Bills (7-4) have been up-and-down lately but coming off a 31-6 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving night. They are looking to build on what they did last year, which was reaching the AFC Championship game. Bills players know they have a tough task ahead of them but believe turnovers will be the key for them to winning tonight.
“Those guys on the defensive side, they get paid, too, and obviously we want to make sure that we’re being smart with the football,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said Thursday after practice, per the Bills’ official website. “I want to take care of it and not put it in harm’s way in the air or on the ground for that matter. … We understand that’s one of the things coach McDermott always preaches to us and we got to do a better job with it.”
