There are only six weeks remaining in the 2022 NFL regular season, which means the majority of the teams are in playoff mode. Week 13 of the season kicks off tonight (Dec. 1) with the Buffalo Bills and New Egland Patriots squaring off on Thursday Night Football. The game will start at 8:15 and stream exclusively on Prime Video. For mobile users, Thursday Night Football will stream on NFL+.ย
The Bills are in a good position to clinch a playoff spot but can’t afford to lose any more games if they want to host a postseason contest. They have the second-best record in the AFC but in second place in the AFC East since they have the same record as the Miami Dolphins, a team that beat them earlier in the year. The Bills know how competitive the AFC East is as everyone has a winning record, including the Patriots who are in last place.ย
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“It’s an entirely different division, a much better division than I ever thought it was going to be,” Judy Battista, NFL Network’s Senior National columnist, said, per the Bills’ official website. “We all thought the AFC West was going to be this division like nothing we’ve ever seen before and instead, it’s the AFC East that seems to be the power division in the conference.” ย
The Patriots (6-5) are coming off a 33-26 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Thanksgiving Day. They are only one game behind the New York Jets for the final spot in the AFC side of the playoffs, so a win tonight would increase their chances of reaching the road to the Super Bowl. One of the big reasons for the team’s success is linebacker Matt Judon who has 13 sacks in 11 games.ย
“Jude’s an instinctive player. He does a good job of getting vision on the ball and also taking the right angle or making the right decision based on where the blocker is, where the ball is, how fast the runner’s going, or what angle he’s at and so forth,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said, per Fox Sports. “Those are football skills that are hard to coach because they happen so fast. It’s just a decision that the player has to make on the field in a split second.”ย ย