2023 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 17

New England Patriots (4-11) @ Buffalo Bills (9-6)

Sunday, December 31, 1:00 PM ET

The Buffalo Bills avoided certain disaster on Saturday night as they traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers, and nearly let the Bolts hand them a loss on their way out. A loss in Los Angeles would have been catastrophic to the Bills, who have virtually no margin for error right now, but that’s really true for a lot of teams in the AFC playoff race.

But instead of a heartbreaking loss, the Buffalo Bills obviously got themselves a big win on the road, and they return home for Week 17 against the New England Patriots with a 9-6 record and a chance to get to 10 wins against a Patriots team that has obviously struggled all season.

But in the back of everyone’s minds? The Patriots don’t have many wins this season, but one of them did come against the Buffalo Bills. They beat the Bills back in Week 7 in New England. But this situation is obviously very different. The Bills are playing with their backs against the wall right now and they’ve responded well after looking like fish in a barrel just a few weeks back.

I think we’re going to see a focused Buffalo team, and I think we’re going to see them make a bit of a statement in this matchup.

I don’t expect this one to be overly close and neither do the oddsmakers. The Bills are favored by 13.5 points at home in this one.

Prediction: Bills win 34-20