Orchard Park, NY – The Patriots have their first signature win under head coach Mike Vrabel, an epic 23-20 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday night.

Where do we begin? First of all, what a freaking football game. That's the type of game we want to see the Patriots playing. Primetime. Under the lights. On the road against a division opponent with the whole NFL world watching. Delivering a win in that atmosphere is a massive testament to the players and the program Vrabel is building in Foxboro.

The Patriots team goal this week was to "take the next step" as a football team. New England already took advantage of bad football by routing the Panthers last week, but to be a true contender, the Patriots need to begin winning epic football games like we saw in Orchard Park. On Sunday night, the Patriots took that next step, snapping a 14-game home winning streak for the Bills to knock off the last undefeated team in the NFL.

Along with the first signature win for the Vrabel era, it was also a huge moment for second-year QB Drake Maye. Maye was absolutely masterful in the second half, completing his first game-winning drive as a pro with multiple big-time plays on the Patriots game-winning drive. Individually, Maye took the next step, delivering in the clutch in the first of hopefully many signature moments in his Patriots career.

The Patriots have to build on their signature victory in Buffalo, but now is a time to relish in this win. It was a big night for the Patriots, with their second-year quarterback out-dueling the reigning MVP in his house and a massive vote of confidence for Vrabel. Tonight, the Pats are back.

Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots improve to 3-2 on the season with a win over the Bills on Sunday Night Football.

1. Player of the Game: QB Drake Maye Delivers First Game-Winning Drive, Out-Duels Josh Allen in Buffalo

Choosing between the quarterback and his go-to receiver was difficult, but Maye deserves his flowers in his breakout performance.

Locally, Patriots fans and pundits knew Maye was making the year-two leap before our eyes. However, this was really the first time a national audience watched the second-year quarterback play. Maye hasn't had a primetime showcase like this, and boy did he deliver, especially in the second half, where he was 14-of-15 for 188 passing yards. There are so many terrific throws, but we'll stick with the game-winning drive here.

The Patriots drive starter was their counter-bash concept, where Maye kept the ball on the run-action, which has an option for him to run or pass. With a defender hanging on him, Maye somehow gets the ball out to Diggs in the flat, and Diggs cuts upfield for a 12-yard gain.

Later in the drive, Maye set up the game-winning field goal with a 19-yard hole shot to WR Kayshon Boutte. Boutte gets open between the flat defender and half-field safety along the sideline against a cover-two defense, and Maye hits him with a perfectly placed pass while under pressure to put the Patriots in scoring range.

Until now, the final hurdle for the Patriots young quarterback was to show off his clutch gene. After the game, Maye credited his competitive family for building that confidence in those gotta-have-it moments. On Sunday night, Maye and the Patriots announced they've arrived to the rest of the NFL — watch out.

2. WR Stefon Diggs Returns to Buffalo with 10-Catch, 146-yard Performance on SNF

We're throwing the word epic around a lot tonight, but man, that Diggs performance was epic. In his first game in Buffalo since being traded to the Texans during the 2024 offseason, Diggs went off with 10 catches for 146 yards. You think this one meant more to Diggs? Well, it did, and his team seemed to know it, naming him a game captain, having him call the opening coin toss, and then throwing it to him on the very first offensive play of the game – it was Diggs early and often.

The Patriots wideout posted his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game as his chemistry with Maye grows. When asked about his comfort level following consecutive impressive performances: "six-out-of-10," Diggs answered with a smile.

For example, Diggs and Maye connected on their best off-script play of the season. Maye took a play-action drop when the Bills blitzed the weakside linebacker to his left, so Maye rolled away from the pressure to extend the play. At the same time, Diggs sees Maye is in off-script mode, so Diggs breaks upfield into a single-high safety defense, and Maye finds him on a converted pylon route for a 32-yard gain – a big-time play.

Along with creating magic off-script with Maye, Diggs had a 30-yard catch-and-run where the Patriots formationed him open. The Pats lined up in a 3x1 formation with Diggs in the inside slot (No. 3 spot). By aligning him inside, Diggs was matched up with a "buzzing" safety into the short zone distribution, and Bills S Cole Bishop is late to his spot in the zone, and Diggs breaks a tackle attempt to take off into the secondary.

When the Patriots signed Diggs as a free agent, they hoped to get a true No. 1 receiver for Maye. Diggs is playing like one so far, and if it continues, this offense is in great shape.

3. Patriots Defense Goes Toe-to-Toe with Bills QB Josh Allen and His Receivers in Man Coverage

When previewing this game, we discussed the idea of playing man coverage against a good, not great, receiver core in Buffalo.

The Patriots spent money to bring CB Carlton Davis here in free agency to pair him with All-Pro corner Christian Gonzalez. The idea was to be a lockdown tandem, which matched well with Bills wideouts Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman on paper. Why not trust your corners to win some rounds rather than backing off and allowing Allen to take profits? On Sunday night, the Patriots did just that, playing 41% of the Bills drop-backs in man coverage. Allen won some rounds, but the Pats got key takeaways and stops while playing man coverage on Sunday.

For example, on a critical red-zone interception, the Pats are in single-high man coverage with CB Marcus Jones covering WR Khalil Shakir. Jones knows he has post-safety help from S Jaylinn Hawkins in the deep-middle, so he only has to worry about an in-breaking route rather than a vertical. So, Jones undercuts Shakir's route, and with a slight hesitation from Allen on the throw, the Pats CB jumps the route for an interception.

Along with playing heavy man coverage, the Patriots defense also mixed in some zone pressures. Above, the Pats send a safety blitz while dropping LB Robert Spillane out of the rush into a cover-three zone. By adding Hawkins onto the rush, the Pats form a four-man stunt over the right side that closes the arm-side of the pocket, and the rush gets home for a sack. It's a good thing the rush got home, too, as TE Dalton Kincaid was uncovering downfield.

Overall, the Patriots defense held Allen under his season average by adding a modest +0.19 expected points added per drop-back. When you face a quarterback as good as Allen, it's hard to keep him down for four quarters, but New England took advantage of its opportunities.

4. Rookie K Andy Borregales Drills a 52-Yard Game-Winner vs. the Bills

On top of Maye's performance, Borregales also delivered in the clutch by drilling a 52-yard field goal right down Main Street with 20 seconds left in the game. Borregales had some early-season struggles in his first season, but he has been improving each week, and that kick took some serious stones with all of Bills Mafia watching at Highmark Stadium.

Along with Borregales's game-winner, the Pats also got a field-flipping punt from Bryce Baringer in the fourth quarter. Baringer booted a 73-yarder to put the Bills on a long field. Buffalo had to settle for a field goal on the drive, tying the score at 20 apiece, which set up the Patriots heroics on the game-winning drive. The Pats specialists delivered on Sunday night.

5. Patriots Run Defense Shuts Down Bills RB James Cook and Company

Another key to this game defensively was the Patriots holding the Bills rushing attack to a 36 percent success rate and just 3.3 yards per rush for Cook. Buffalo entered the week as the top-ranked rush offense in expected points added (EPA), but the Patriots defense shut Cook and company down to the tune of -0.36 EPA per rush this week. On top of the low efficiency, Cook's longest run of the night was only nine yards. Besides a few Allen scrambles, the run defense was terrific. We'll have more on what they did schematically to shut down the Bills rushing attack in After Further Review.

6. Pats Backfield Sustains Significant Injury, Fumbling Woes Continue for Stevenson

Starting with the injury, RB Antonio Gibson sustained what appeared to be a significant knee injury when he was upended on a huge hit returning a kickoff. Gibson left the field with help from trainers and was immediately ruled out of the game. If his injury is serious, Gibson's absence for an extended period leaves the Patriots with only two healthy running backs.

Along with Gibson's injury, Pats lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled for the third time this season on Sunday night. This time, Stevenson had the ball punched out when he was being tackled on a reception after catching a check-down from Maye. Between the injury to Gibson and Stevenson's ball security issues, New England might have a depth issue to sort through at running back. The Patriots have RB Terrell Jennings on the practice squad, but they might look to make an external addition.

7. Patriots Offensive Line Does Its Job, Bills Turn Up Blitz Pressure in Second Half

After watching the film, we'll have a more complete review of the Patriots offensive line. The instant reaction was that the Pats O-Line held the Bills pass-rush enough in check to let Maye operate, with rookie LG Jared Wilson returning to the starting lineup (LT - Campbell, LG - Wilson, C - Bradbury, RG - Onwneu, RT - Moses). Buffalo turned up the pressure in the second half, a theme of the post-game press conference with offensive players, blitzing Maye eight times after only blitzing him twice in the first half. Maye lamented leaving some clean pockets, inviting pressure, but the offensive line only allowed one "quick" pressure the entire night. Overall, it was a solid 38.9% pressure rate, with the lone blemish being a false start by sixth OL Vederian Lowe to wipe out a third-down conversion.

8. Covering Tight Ends is an Area of Needed Improvement for the Pats Defense

The one nitpick for the Patriots defense was some struggles covering the Bills tight ends. In particular, Bills TE Dalton Kincaid had six catches for 108 yards, with four catches for 72 yards against Pats safeties Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson. If the Pats play a high rate of man coverage, the safeties will be tasked with covering tight ends, and they've been inconsistent in doing so to this point. New England seems to be riding with Hawkins and Woodson, but deploying a tight end-stopper such as CB Alex Austin or LB Marte Mapu in man coverage situations could work, as could helping to talented pass-catchers like Kincaid. Again, this is a celebratory night, but the Pats defense's issues covering tight ends are not new. We've been seeing them struggle with it since training camp.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer