The New England Patriots can put a bow on their 11th straight AFC East division title with a win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, but it might not be so easy.

While the Patriots are 11-3, the feisty Bills are 10-4 in their own right, and it's rare that New England is actually threatened for the division crown this late in the season.

The Pats won in Buffalo earlier in the year, but it was a dogfight, as the Patriots came away with a tight 16-10 victory in what was probably their worst offensive performance of the season.

This game will be at Gillette Stadium, so Tom Brady and Co. will have the home crowd behind them.

Even though the Bills are tough, I think the Patriots come away with a division-clinching win this weekend.

Here are four reasons why:

4. Home-field advantage

Can you imagine the Patriots losing a home game with a division title on the line? I can't, especially not against a team that they have dominated for two decades.

The last time we saw the Pats at Gillette Stadium, they were getting booed off of the field courtesy of a miserable offensive showing in a 23-16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs a couple of weeks ago.

It seems doubtful we'll see such a scene again.

The Patriots know they need to get this done now, and they'll almost surely put on a better show for their home fans this time around.

3. The Patriots' run defense

The Bills' offense has not been good as a whole this season, as it ranks 22nd in the NFL in both yards and points per game.

However, one area where Buffalo has excelled is in its ground attack, as it is averaging 134.9 rushing yards per game, which ranks fifth in the league.

The problem for the Bills is that they will be facing one of the NFL's best run defenses on Saturday, with the Patriots allowing 98.1 rushing yards per contest (seventh in the league).

While rookie running back Devin Singletary has had a fine year and veteran back Frank Gore has had his moments, the biggest X-factor in Buffalo's strong rushing offense has been quarterback Josh Allen. He isn't Lamar Jackson, but he has wheels.

Bill Belichick is a genius at taking away the opponent's most important facet of its offense. Just ask Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams.

Expect him to devise a plan to thwart the Bills' ground game, which is going to force Allen to make plays with his arm rather than his legs.

While Allen has certainly improved as a passer, the defense will be more than happy with Buffalo having to rely on Allen to make big throws.

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2. The Bills' lack of experience

The Bills are a young team and seem to have a bright future, but I'm not sure if they are ready for this moment.

Allen is still very green, and I'm not even sure the Bills themselves expected themselves to be in this position in Week 16.

Not only is Buffalo inexperienced, but it will be facing the most experienced team in the NFL, a club that has won an inordinate amount of these types of games since 2001.

Plus, the Bills won't even have Bills Mafia backing them, as Buffalo will be playing this contest in hostile Foxborough.

That doesn't exactly sound like a great recipe for success for a franchise that has made the playoffs just once since the 1999 campaign, and even if what the Bills did in the early 2000s doesn't really matter here, the fact that Allen and the rest of the roster are not accustomed to these types of pressure situations will almost certainly be a factor.

1. The Patriots know what's at stake

This isn't just about the Patriots securing an AFC East division crown, which is important enough as it is. This is also about New England trying to nail down a first-round bye.

Because the Pats lost to the Chiefs a couple of weeks ago, they do not own the tiebreaker should New England and Kansas City finish with the same 12-4 record.

So it would really behoove the Patriots to win each of their final two games — they play the lowly Miami Dolphins at home in Week 17 — to get to 13 wins and ensure that they won't have to play in the Wild Card Round.

The less games the 42-year-old Brady has to play, the better.

New England surely understands this and will likely be playing with a sense of urgency on Saturday.

This isn't just about beating the Bills and winning the AFC East for the umpteenth time; it's about carving the best possible path to another Super Bowl title.