Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots GameThread

Buffalo Bills (6-9) at New England Patriots (12-3)
Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 1:00 PM ET
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA

Bills inactives: WR Brad Smith (hamstring), WR Kamar Aiken (scratch), TE Fendi Onobun (scratch), OT Demetrius Bell (knee), C Kraig Urbik (knee), DE Jarron Gilbert (scratch), FS Joshua Nesbitt (scratch)Remember Week 3? When the Buffalo Bills erased a 21-point deficit and pulled off their most thrilling victory of the past decade, beating the New England Patriots 34-31 on a last-second field goal and ending a 15-game losing streak to their division rivals? That was a long time ago. It was awesome.

Today, the Bills are 6-9, weeks removed from playoff contention (and months removed from serious contention), and the Patriots have won 80 percent of their games and are playing for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Order has clearly been restored in the football universe.

The Bills close out their 2011 regular season today with a trip to New England, putting a bow on consecutive season No. 12 with no playoff appearance. Once it's over, another long, cold off-season begins. This is the last Bills football we'll get until July, so soak it in, good or bad. GO BILLS!