The New England Patriots know their opponent for the AFC Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs very, very well.
They will play the division rival Buffalo Bills on the road in the No. 6 seed vs. No. 3 seed matchup.
It's the first ever playoff meeting between the Bills and Patriots in NFL competition. The last postseason matchup featuring these rivals came in 1963 when both were in the American Football League.
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SIGN UP HERE The Patriots and Bills split their regular season series, with each team winning on the road. The most recent game was a 33-21 Bills victory in Week 16 at Gillette Stadium.
Patriots-Dolphins takeaways: Bad start, turnovers once again doom Pats in loss
Even though the Patriots have played the Bills quite often, it's still going to be a tough matchup for New England. The Bills were the No. 3 scoring team in the league and have a superstar quarterback in Josh Allen.
How have the Patriots fared when playing an opponent for the third time in a single season?
It's happened several times throughout the team's history. Here's a recap of each instance.
1963 (AFL)
- vs. San Diego Chargers: 0-2 in regular season, 0-1 in playoffs (AFL Championship Game)
- vs. Buffalo Bills: 1-1 in regular season, 1-0 in playoffs (AFL Divisional Playoffs)
1985
- vs. New York Jets: 1-1 in regular season, 1-0 in playoffs (AFC Wild Card Round)
- vs. Miami Dolphins: 1-1 in regular season, 1-0 in playoffs (AFC Championship Game)
1997
- vs. Miami Dolphins: 2-0 in regular season, 1-0 in playoffs (AFC Wild Card Round)
2006
- vs. New York Jets: 1-1 in regular season, 1-0 in playoffs (AFC Wild Card Round)
2010
- vs. New York Jets: 1-1 in regular season, 0-1 in playoffs (AFC Divisional Round)
2021
- vs. Buffalo Bills: 1-1 in regular season, TBD in playoffs (AFC Wild Card Round)
