Bills vs Patriots on the air, betting lines and more
ORCHARD PARK - The Buffalo Bills will have to adjust their body clocks on Sunday because for the first time since Oct. 22, they are kicking off at 1 p.m. when they host the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium.
This will be just the sixth early Sunday start of the season (counting the 9:30 a.m. London game) for a Buffalo franchise that used to live in the 1 p.m. window before it became a perennial playoff team.
The Bills won their first three 1 p.m. starts of 2023 against the Raiders, Commanders and Dolphins, lost that London game to the Jaguars, and then suffered a galling 29-25 defeat at the hands of the Patriots in their last 1 p.m. game to fall to 3-2 in those early games. In prime-time the Bills are 3-3 and in the late Sunday afternoon slots, they are 3-1.
Sunday will be a big-time scoreboard watching day for the Bills and their fans. There are four games starting at 1 p.m. that could have an impact on Buffalo’s chances of clinching a playoff berth and setting off a joyous New Years’ Eve celebration in western New York.
The biggest, of course will be AFC East leader Miami playing at Baltimore. If the Dolphins win, they clinch the division and end Buffalo’s reign at the top after three years. But if Miami loses and the Bills take care of their own business against the 4-11 Patriots, that sets up a showdown in South Florida next week for the AFC East crown and chances are that won’t be a Sunday 1 p.m. start.
That may very well end up being the NFL’s final regular-season game of the year because the league would likely move that game into the Sunday night window which is almost always the biggest viewership spot. Or, another option could be that it gets moved to Saturday for either a 4:30 or 8 p.m. island game kickoff.
In terms of merely securing a playoff berth, if the Bills win, they will have to wait until two critical 4:25 games finish. If Pittsburgh loses at Seattle and Cincinnati loses at Kansas City, the Bills would at the very least earn a wild-card spot.
Here’s the broadcast and betting information for Bills vs. Patriots:
What time is the Bills vs Patriots game?
● Date: Sunday, Dec. 31
● Time: 1 p.m.
● Place: Highmark Stadium
Who is favored to win Bills vs. Patriots game
● Tipico betting line: Bills -12
● Over-under: 40.5
● Money line: Bills minus-700 (bet $700 to win $100) and Patriots plus-500 (bet $100 to win $500).
Who is announcing the Bills vs. Patriots game
● Play-by-play: Kevin Harlan
● Analyst: Trent Green
● Sideline reporter: Melanie Collins
How to watch Buffalo Bills vs New England Patriots game on TV, streaming
● Cable/Network TV: CBS. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WROC (Channel 8, Rochester), WIVB (Buffalo area), WTVH (Syracuse area), WKTV (Utica area), WENY (Elmira area), WRGB (Albany area), and WBNG (Binghamton area).
● Online streaming services: You can watch games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet.
● TV streaming: You can also stream games if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, DirecTV, fuboTV, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and Paramount+.