Buffalo Bills (3-5) at New England Patriots (5-3)
Sunday, November 11, 2012 at 1:00 PM
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Bills inactives: QB Tarvaris Jackson, OT Thomas Welch, DE Mark Anderson, DE Chris Kelsay, LB Kirk Morrison, CB Aaron Williams, S Mana Silva
Coming into a Week 4 matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, the Bills actually had a better record than the visiting Patriots (2-1 versus 1-2). Since that day (and including New England's resounding 52-28 win at Ralph Wilson Stadium), the Bills are 1-4, while the Patriots are 4-1. Order, it seems, has been restored.
Order is decidedly lacking, however, in a muddled AFC playoff picture that currently features seven teams within two games of the final wild card berth - including Buffalo. Only three teams - Houston, Baltimore and Indianapolis - have better than a 5-3 record. Whatever anyone's opinion is on the Bills' odds of making the playoffs are, there's no denying that the chance exists with eight games remaining.
Buffalo is 2-12 in AFC East games under Chan Gailey, however, and their record against the Patriots over the past decade-plus is well documented. Still, this is a team against which the Bills have either beaten or built formidable leads in each of the last three meetings. There's no denying that the Bills can play with the Patriots, either. Beating them, however, is another matter entirely.
This is your open thread for the first half of today's game; you can also follow the action in our game day StoryStream. Enjoy yourselves as long as you can, Bills fans. Let's go Buffalo!