FOXBOROUGH, Ma – The New England Patriots came out of the gate flying high against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, but couldn't hang on to a three-score lead once Josh Allen and the Bills offense found their stride.
Down 21-0, Allen orchestrated one touchdown drive just before halftime, then poured on four more touchdown drives in row in the second half, erasing the Patriots lead and sealing an impressive 35-31 victory that put a pause on New England's division title aspirations.
TreVeyon Henderson was a star of the game for New England, reeling off touchdown runs of 52 and 65 yards. Drake Maye rushed for two touchdowns as well, but New England scored just one time in the second half, allowing Buffalo to close the gap and earn the win.
Allen was sensational after a slow start that saw Buffalo punt on their first three possessions. The 2024 MVP finished 20-of-29 for 193 yards and three passing touchdowns, while running back James Cook averaged 4.9 yards-per-carry with two touchdowns of his own.
Here's how the back-and-forth AFC East game unfolded.
1. Fast Start Pats
New England lost the opening coin toss and received the opening kickoff, and put together one of their best opening drives of the season. Rhamondre Stevenson started things off with a 15-yard run right up the middle on the first play of the game, but the key play came on a 3rd-and-7 with Maye placing a perfect pass into the arms of Kayshon Boutte along the sidelines. It went for 30 yards and gave the Pats a new set of downs inside Bills territory. A few plays later Maye finished the drive off himself, keeping a QB option and running in for an eight-yard rushing score. It was an eight-play, 73-yard scoring drive that gave New England an early 7-0 lead.
The Patriots defense would feed off of the offense's fast start, turning in back-to-back three-and-outs to start the game. Jack Gibbens came through with a key sack of Josh Allen to get the defense off the field and a short punt set up Maye and the offense with good field position for their third possession of the game.
Maye again led the way, first turning in a 17-yard scramble to get the drive started, then finishing it off himself with his second rushing touchdown of the game, this one from seven yards out. Josh McDaniels continued to dig into his bag of tricks, running a reverse and a double pass in New England's first three possessions, while also incorporating more quarterback runs to help the offense break out of their recent red zone struggles.
The Patriots built a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
2. Henderson Explodes
New England would continue to pour it on. After falling behind 14-0, Josh Allen led the Bills to their first two first downs of the game, but once again pressure got to Allen, with Harold Landry picking up a sack that forced the Bills into a third punt in three possessions.
The Patriots took back over at their own six-yard line and put together another scoring drive. Mack Hollins chipped in an 18-yard reception to get New England out to midfield and then TreVeyon Henderson did the rest, taking a 52-yard run to the house for the Patriots third touchdown in four possessions. Henderson caught a seam and exploded up the sideline, showing the impressive burst that has made him a dangerous weapon.
The Patriots led 21-0 with just over five minutes left in the first half, but a good kickoff return, coupled with a Brenden Schooler facemask penalty, quickly set the Bills up at the New England 42-yard line.
Allen converted a 3rd-and-5 to tight end Dawson Knox to get Buffalo inside New England's red zone, and two plays later he'd hit James Cook out of the backfield for the Bills first touchdown of the game. That cut New England's lead to 21-7 just after the two-minute warning.
3. Borregales Adds Three More
The Patriots offense continued to click, running an efficient two-minute attack as halftime approached. Hunter Henry caught an 18-yard pass on 3rd-and-3, while Maye added an 18-yard scramble as well.
It was enough to add on a 36-yard Andy Borregales field goal to close out the half, making it Patriots 24, Bills 7 at the break. It was one of the best first halves of the Patriots season. They piled up 177 rushing yards, while Maye completed 9-of-11 passes in a continuation of his season-long efficiency.
4. Allen, Bills Won't Go Quietly
Buffalo wouldn't take long in the third quarter to get back into the game. It started with a second-straight quality kickoff return for the Bills, this one went 58 yards and immediately set them up at the Patriots 44-yard line.
Allen converted the only third down that Buffalo faced with a 20-yard QB keeper run and two plays later he hit tight end Dawson Knox for a touchdown. Just over three minutes into the third quarter the Patriots lead was cut to 10 points, New England 24, Buffalo 14.
5. Bills Keep Closing In
The Patriots quickly punted the ball back to the Bills on their next possession, their first three-and-out of the game, giving Allen a chance to make it a one-score game if he could orchestrate a third-straight touchdown drive. The momentum had swung in Buffalo's favor as they continued to make a push.
It was Buffalo's best and most sustained drive of the game to that point, as they quickly went down the field, picking up chunk yardage on plays to Josh Palmer (16 yards) and Ray Davis (13 yards). Buffalo also converted a third down thanks to a Patriots holding penalty and then finished it off with a three-yard touchdown carry by James Cook.
That marked three touchdown-scoring drives in a row for the Bills as they closed to within three points, 24-21. It was an 11-play, 65-yard drive that left the Patriots in need of an offensive response to the surging Bills.
6. Bills Take the Lead
Maye and the offense picked up two first downs but couldn't put up another score, with back-to-back penalties backing them up into a 3rd-and-25. Maye launched a deep pass that was intercepted, but it essentially served as a solid punt, putting the Bills on their own 9-yard line. Allen converted a 3rd-and-7 with a 24-yard pass to a wide-open Dalton Kincaid just before the third quarter ended. The Patriots carried a 24-21 lead into the start of the fourth quarter with the Bills on their own 36-yard line.
That lead wouldn't last much longer, as Allen and the Bills continued to move the ball on the Patriots defense. This drive was even longer and more sustained than their last, with Allen converting a 3rd-and-goal from the 14-yard line for another touchdown.
That gave the Bills their first lead of the game, 28-24, as New England's defense struggled to come up with plays to get off the field. The key play of the drive came on a 4th-and-3. Allen took a deep shot to Khalil Shakir and he made the catch over cornerback Marcus Jones to set up Buffalo inside the red zone. Even a holding penalty couldn't slow down Buffalo as they scored a touchdown for the fourth-straight drive.
7. Henderson, Again
It took just one play for New England to take back the lead and it looked innocent enough when Maye handed it off to TreVeyon Henderson and it seemed like he was bottled up. But that's when Henderson cut it back and raced across the field with the Buffalo defense in pursuit. Maye led the way down the sideline as Henderson exploded 65 yards for his second big-play touchdown of the game.
Just like that New England was back on the scoreboard for the first time in the second half, retaking a 31-28 lead with just under 10 minutes to play.
8. Bills Keep Chugging
Allen and the Bills continued to roll over the Patriots with their fifth-straight touchdown drive, one that took just seven plays to go 50 yards. A Carlton Davis pass interference penalty on a third down loomed large on the drive as the late flag set up the Bills inside New England territory with a new set of downs. It was the only third down they faced as the Patriots defense couldn't stop their momentum. James Cook again made the Patriots pay with a hard run from 11 yards out as Buffalo retook the lead, 35-31, with 6:48 left to play.
9. Last Chance
Maye couldn't get anything going on the next drive, punting the ball back to the Bills but that's when the Patriots defense stepped up for the first time in the second half, forcing a punt and giving the Pats offense one more crack at it with 2:43 left to play.
But the Patriots offense remained disjointed, and Maye's final fourth-down pass fell incomplete. Buffalo picked up a final first down to seal the win.
10. Patriots are 11-3
With the loss, the Patriots winning streak ends at 10 games and they fall to 11-3 on the season. New England remains in the hunt for the divisional title and can still secure it with future wins over the Jets and Dolphins to end the season, but it's still a disappointing loss to swallow after New England came out of the gate so strongly, scoring points on four of their five first-half possessions.
Next week, the Patriots travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens on Sunday Night Football.
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
