Patriots vs. Bills 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online

The NFL season isn’t quite halfway through, but the New England Patriots can still manage to put a virtual lock on the AFC East crown by avenging their only loss of the season. Standing in their way is a fired-up Buffalo Bills team that’s gone 4-1 since jettisoning offensive coordinator Greg Roman after Week 2.

A win on Sunday would give New England a three-game cushion in the division with eight games to play. While the Bills have surged early in the season and Miami has recently shown signs of life, it’s difficult to imagine either team climbing out of that hole and usurping the Patriots’ spot at the top. Especially now that the Pats have Tom Brady back behind center.

All Brady’s done since his return is be the league’s top quarterback. The veteran passer leads the league in QB rating, completion percentage, and yards per pass attempt while leading the Pats to a 3-0 record.

Rex Ryan, who is 4-13 against Brady as head coach of the New York Jets and now the Bills, said this week, “One of these days I keep thinking if I stay in this conference long enough that maybe that dude will retire, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.”

Brady’s part of a New England QB rotation that has yet to throw an interception — a strong counterbalance to the team’s predilection to putting the ball on the ground this ball. The Patriots have coughed up six fumbles through seven games, the third-highest mark in the league. One of those came against Buffalo when these two teams met in Foxborough.

That fumble was just one of many examples where things turned sour in an eventual 16-0 loss to the Bills. The Patriots suffered through missed field goals, sloppy tackling, and 13 drive-shredding penalties in the first shutout defeat at Gillette Stadium. But the loss also happened with an injured Jacoby Brissett behind center. That’s an upgrade like going from a seat in coach to a spot steering the space shuttle.

New England’s bigger concern will be stopping a potent running game that carved up the Patriots’ defense back in Week 4. LeSean McCoy led a versatile ground attack that gained 134 yards and produced drive-sustaining runs with regularity. McCoy has been hampered by a hamstring injury in recent weeks, but if he’s healthy enough to play he’ll face a defense dealing with its own issues. All-Pro linebacker Jamie Collins’s status is up in the air thanks to a hip injury.

Tyrod Taylor carved up the Pats for 274 yards of total offense in the win, but was much less efficient in last week’s loss to Miami. The Dolphins held the mobile quarterback to just 14 completions on 28 attempts behind a defensive effort that sacked him four times. That’s not a blueprint New England can follow; since trading Chandler Jones away to Arizona, the Patriots have managed only 11 sacks this season. That low pressure output ranks just 24th in the NFL.

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Location: New Era Field, Orchard Park, N.Y.

TV: CBS

Announcers: Ian Eagle, Rich Gannon, Evan Washburn

Online: Sunday Ticket