luckadjusted
NFL Week 3 · 2026

NFL · Week 13 2026 · Sunday, December 6

Bills vs Patriots prediction and pick

Our Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots pick: Bills by 2.3, 57% to win. The forecast starts from what each team’s play has been worth once the luck is adjusted for, adds last season, who starts at quarterback and who is out hurt, and home field. No betting information goes in.

An early look, 10 weeks ahead: it sharpens as the game comes up. Updated every day until kickoff, then frozen and scored. After the game this page shows who deserved to win.

Why the curves are so wide: luck. Even with both teams’ strength known exactly, one game’s bounces, kicks, calls and sequencing move the final margin by about ±12.1 points (one standard deviation, measured from every play since 2019). These forecasts carry ±13.4, so about 81% of the width is that luck; the rest is what nobody knows yet about the teams. That is why a 7-point favorite still loses about 3 times in 10.

Bills at Patriots

Sun, Dec 6, 4:25 pm ET · Gillette Stadium

Bills by 2.3 · 57% to win

Show as a table
OutcomeChance
Bills win57.0%
Patriots win43.0%
Middle 50%: Bills by 11 to Patriots by 750%
Middle 90%: Bills by 24 to Patriots by 2090%
Middle 95%: Bills by 28 to Patriots by 2495%
Exactly Bills by 38.3%
Exactly Patriots by 37.7%
Exactly Bills by 75.2%
Exactly Patriots by 74.4%
Exactly Bills by 143.8%
P50
Half of games like this end between Bills by 11 and Patriots by 7.
P90
9 in 10 between Bills by 24 and Patriots by 20.
P95
19 in 20 between Bills by 28 and Patriots by 24.
Where the forecast comes from
This season, adjusted for luckBills+3.7
Home fieldPatriots+2.3
QuarterbacksBills+1.1
Last seasonPatriots+0.2

The season so far

TeamRecordCoin-flip winsLuck in wins
Bills 3–0 2.4 +0.5
Patriots 1–2 1.1 −0.2

Coin-flip wins: the wins each team’s games were worth with only the kicks, bounces, drops and calls re-rolled, the record adjusted for luck. Luck in wins: actual wins minus what the play was worth.

Bills vs Patriots: questions and answers

Who will win Bills vs Patriots?

Our forecast picks the Bills, with 57% to win; the Patriots win 43% of the time.

What’s the spread for Bills vs Patriots?

Our spread: Bills −2.3. The betting line isn’t out yet. Ours uses no betting information, so where the two differ is where our read of the teams differs from the market’s.

When is Bills vs Patriots?

Sunday, December 6, 2026, at 4:25 pm ET, at Gillette Stadium.