Patriots

The field conditions in Buffalo are cold and windy with some snow squalls in the forecast. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe

The highly anticipated Monday Night Football showdown between the 8-4 Patriots and the 7-4 Bills is here.

Kickoff in Orchard Park is at 8:15 p.m. You can watch on ESPN.

New England enters the AFC matchup riding a six-game win streak. Buffalo last played on Thanksgiving, when it dispatched the Saints.

The Patriots, who hold the top spot in the AFC after the Ravens’ loss on Sunday, will have to face Buffalo again in just three weeks.

We’ll be offering live updates throughout the game. Follow along below.

No surprises when it comes to Pats’ inactives — 7:03 p.m.

The following players have been ruled inactive for tonight’s game against the Bills:

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•LB Ronnie Perkins (illness) had been on the injury report over the course of the week, so it’s no surprise he shows up here. It’s the first non-healthy scratch of the season for the first-year defender, who is the leader in the race for the Shane Vereen/James White Redshirt Award.

•TE Devin Asiasi has played one game and has two catches for 39 yards. Another healthy scratch for the youngster, who is behind veterans Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith on the depth chart.

•QB Jarrett Stidham is sidelined again, another healthy scratch. Unless something unforeseen happens, I’d expect him to continue in the role of No. 3 quarterback the rest of the way.

•OL Yasir Durant is a healthy scratch as well. The 23-year-old guard has played in six games this year, but hasn’t been active since the Oct. 17 loss to the Cowboys. His absence is a good sign when it comes to the overall health of New England’s offensive line.

•CB Shaun Wade has struggled with injury at times this season, but wasn’t on the injury report this week. He’s been a good depth piece when he’s been healthy, and could still have a key moment between now and the end of the season. But the rookie out of Ohio State will sit tonight against the Bills.

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•LB Jahlani Tavai is also a healthy scratch — like Durant, the fact that he’s down tonight means the Patriots feel pretty good about their available depth at that position … namely, Jamie Collins, who returns to game action this evening after missing the last month.

Throwback to 2008 and The Wind Bowl— 6:40 p.m.

It’s going to be a little breezy for this one, but that’s nothing new for Buffalo. There was the Bills-Patriots 2008 regular-season finale when winds topped out at anywhere between 30 and 40 mph, and it wreaked havoc on the goalposts. Check out a recap of that one, which includes a weird mashup of highlights and a 57-yard punt from Matt Cassel(!!!):

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow — 6:35 p.m.

Looks like we are in for our first snow game of the season. Our guy Jim McBride took these videos earlier in the evening, and more snow has fallen since then. It’s going to be interesting to see how rookie Mac Jones fares in the snow.

As for how things might look for the rest of the evening, our pals at WBZ-TV have us covered.

Some numbers to keep an eye on tonight — 6:30 p.m.

•This one is from our buddy Mike Giardi: Josh Allen could be the first quarterback to defeat Bill Belichick in three straight games since Eli Manning did it from 2007-2011. Three straight wins against Belichick is the longest streak by any quarterback since 2000, and has been done by Manning, Peyton Manning, Jay Fiedler, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Brees and Jake Plummer.

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•The Patriots will look to improve to 6-0 on the road this season. The Patriots have finished undefeated on the road twice in franchise history (2007 and 2016).

•Kendrick Bourne enters this week with 42 receptions for 623 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He needs 8 catches at Buffalo to establish a single-season high. He had 49 receptions in 2020 with San Francisco.

•If Jakobi Meyers completes one more pass in 2021, he will be the first Patriots WR to complete more than two passes in a single season. Julian Edelman completed two passes in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and Harold Jackson completed two passes in 1980.

•Mac Jones has completed over 70 percent of his passes in eight of his first 12 NFL games. Jones can tie the rookie record this week against Buffalo. Dak Prescott completed 70 percent of his passes in nine games as a rookie in 2016.

•If J.C. Jackson gets an interception this week, he will be the only Patriots player with at least two seasons with 8 or more interceptions.

•Matthew Judon increased his 2021 sack total to 11½ with an 8-yard sack of Ryan Tannehill last week. With a sack this week, he will join Chandler Jones (12½ in 2015) & Mike Vrabel (12½ in 2007) for the most sacks in a season by a Patriots player under Bill Belichick. It’s also worth noting that Judon’s current pace could allow him to at least threaten the franchise record. He has 11.5 sacks through 12 games, which could get him close to 17. Andre Tippett has franchise record for a 16-game season with 18.5.

Predict the game — 6:22 p.m.

Pregame reading list — 6:15 p.m.

Bills will be a true test, but the Patriots and Mac Jones should have the answers

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Let’s get it started — 6:12 p.m.

Hey everyone! Hope everyone enjoyed the Sunday away. We’ve got a fun one on tap for tonight — Patriots and Bills, live from Orchard Park at 8:15 p.m. Keep it here for all the updates you need, all night long. When it comes to pregame, we’ll have the usual: game-day reading list, updates from the stadium, weather news, inactive analysis, betting information, and much more. CUE THE THEME SONG.