Patriots blow early lead, comeback comes up short in 24-21 loss to Bills
The New England Patriots jumped out to an early 14-0 lead over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, but the game flipped on them in the second half.
Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills was supposed to be one of the most lopsided of the week in the NFL, and one of the most lopsided of the year for the Patriots. Instead, we got a close game in Orchard Park, that saw the heavily-favored Bills sneak out with a 24-21 win. The Patriots’ record drops to 3-12 with the loss.
As has been the case in the last few Patriots-Bills games, the game began with an explosive kickoff return. Antonio Gibson took the opening kickoff back 42 yards, setting the Patriots up with favorable field position. Drake Maye made the most of that opportunity, converting one third down on a throw facing pressure, then on the next third down hit Kayshon Boutte deep up the sideline for a 28-yard opening drive touchdown.
Defensively, the Patriots’ first drive also ended successfully. Buffalo picked up just one first down, and Alex Austin’s third down pass breakup forced a Bills punt.
The Patriots’ strong start continued, as they went 91 yards in 16 plays. Despite a penalty in the red zone they finished the drive again, this time with Rhamondre Stevenson doing the honors with a 14-yard touchdown run to put New England up 14-0 early in the second quarter.
On Buffalo’s second drive, the Bills turned to the run game to light a spark. That resulted in a 46-yard touchdown run by James Cook, to make the score 14-7.
New England’s defense did a better job on the next drive, and a couple of Bills penalties set up a third and long. That play ended with a Josh Allen heave to the end zone that turned into a Marte Mapu interception. However, Mapu tried running the ball out of the end zone and was brought down at the New England 1-yard line.
Maye was able to get the Patriots a little bit of breathing room, and a fake punt run by Dell Pettus added another first down. However the New England was stopped on the set of downs after the fake punt, and punted the ball back to Buffalo at the two-minute warning. One more stop left the game 14-7 at the half.
To start the second half the Bills did something they didn’t too much of in the first half – test the Patriots’ run game. Spurred by 35 yards on the ground from Cook, the Bills went 68 yards in nine plays. The drive was capped by Cook catching a four-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14-14.
The Patriots’ attempt at a response didn’t last long. Stevenson fumbled two plays into the ensuing drive, and Buffalo recovered. A third-down sack by Mapu and Jeremiah Pharms held the Bills to just a field goal, but they were able to take their first lead of the game – 17-14 – off the turnover.
Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Patriots. After forcing a Bills punt the Patriots were backed up near their own end zone. Maye tried to hit Stevenson on a backwards swing pass, but Stevenson lost the ball as he got hit and the Bills recovered in the end zone making it 24-14.
When New England got the ball back, they worked it near midfield. They had a 3rd & short, but ended up taking a delay of game. After an incomplete pass, they elected to punt down 10 with 8:33 to go down 10.
Buffalo took three minutes off the clock before punting the ball back to the Patriots. New England answered with a touchdown drive but it took 3:16 off the clock including the Patriots having to run nine plays (including penalties) to punch the ball in from inside the 10, with Maye hitting Hunter Henry in the end zone. That touchdown made it 24-21 with 1:13 to go, but the Bills ran out the clock to close out the game after recovering an onside kick.
Thanks in large part to his strong start, Maye finished the game 22-of-36 for 260 yards with two touchdowns and the interception. His leading receiver was Boutte, who caught five passes for 95 yards and a score. Stevenson was the Patriots’ leading rusher, with 12 carries for 60 yards, with a touchdown and a fumble.
Defensively, the Patriots stopped the Bills’ streak of eight consecutive games with 30-plus points on offense – they had a chance to break the NFL record on Sunday. Allen put up relatively pedestrian numbers, going 16-of-29 for 154 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also ran for 30 yards on six carries.
It was the Bills’ run game, and the Patriots’ run defense, that decided this one. Buffalo ran for 6.1 yards per carry, with Cook going for exactly 100 yards on 11 carries.
This was the final road game of the year for the Patriots. They’ll be back at home for the final two, including their next game against the Los Angeles Chargers. It’s a short week leading into that one, with LA coming to town on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff. Coverage can be heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub and the Patriots Radio Network, with pregame starting at 10:00.
