Patriots Ups & Downs: Who stood out in an upset win over the Bills?

The New England Patriots are 3-2 on the 2025 season after scoring a massive upset win over the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on "Sunday Night Football." Here's who we graded UP or DOWN based on their on-field performance...

It's hard to overstate this moment for the sophomore quarterback. Maye showed off his elite physical abilities on a number of plays, avoided turning it over, and came up big in critical moments. And he did it all on the road, in prime time, against arguably the best team in the AFC with arguably the league's best quarterback on the opposite sideline.

Maye managed to get his passer rating up to 101.1, despite not throwing a touchdown pass. He accomplished that with his efficiency (73.3% completions), eliminating interceptions, and picking up chunk yardage down the field (9.1 yards per pass attempt). He saved some of his best moments for the second half, including a dime on the run to Stefon Diggs to set up a touchdown, then a ridiculous desperation toss to Diggs on their final fourth-quarter possession, with a defender literally dragging him down.

Now that he's stacked two big games together and added a signature game to his resume, Maye will no doubt shoot up QB rankings and take a more prominent spot in the conversation across the league. If the Patriots can pull off a win like they did Sunday night, and if Maye continues to play like this, they can win any game left on their schedule and finally get back to the postseason.

If the Patriots ended up losing Sunday night's game, Farmer's fourth-quarter personal foul would have been a major reason why. Farmer jumped on the Bills' James Cook after he'd already been tackled, turning a 4-yard loss into a net of 11 yards and a fresh set of downs for Josh Allen. The Bills eventually cashed in with a touchdown catch by Keon Coleman that made it a 20-17 game in the fourth quarter. Farmer marred what could've been a solid night, which included an early fumble recovery, but the rookie's inexperience sure showed at that moment.

Speaking of stacking games, Diggs has amassed 100 receiving yards in two straight games for the first time since 2023. He finished with 10 catches and 146 yards, as he and Maye continue to emerge as a formidable quarterback-receiver duo.

Diggs wasn't even necessarily starting slow, as he's now the first Patriot since Julian Edelman to compile at least 25 catches and 350 receiving yards over the first five games. But his plays are becoming bigger and more explosive, and it's a great sign for the offense.

Hawkins couldn't handle the Bills' pre-snap motion with receiver Curtis Samuel darting across the backfield, which left him wide-open for an easy touchdown. His coverage continues to leave a lot to be desired as the Pats' deep safety, and it's fair to wonder if they'd be better off trying rookie Craig Woodson full-time in that role.

It wasn't just Maye that added a signature moment to his career. Borregales showed the football world why he was considered a high-end kicking prospect in the draft, and it was due in no small part to his history of coming through in clutch moments for the Miami Hurricanes. The rookie drilled a 52-yarder with just 15 seconds left in regulation, ultimately lifting the Patriots to victory after the offense could only do just enough to get into field goal range.

Early-season concerns over Borregales as the Pats kicker may have been premature. It's only one kick and one game, but it was huge for the team to see the rook not just come out with a clean sheet but deliver a big-time kick in a big-time moment.

Although Durden was somewhat a victim of the NFL's tight adjudication of "roughing the passer" flags, he simply went too high on Allen with his fourth-quarter hit. You make helmet-to-helmet contact with one of the league's elite quarterbacks after he releases the ball, you're going to get called. Durden and Farmer committed their personal fouls on consecutive plays, a sequence that threatened to ruin the night.

Sunday night provided the first glimpse of the difference Gonzalez can make in the Patriots lineup. He made the biggest pass breakup of the game with just 2:31 left in the fourth quarter, when Allen uncorked a third-and-10 attempt for Khalil Shakir that the cornerback closed and batted away. The play forced the Bills to settle for a game-tying field goal, which in turn set the stage for the Patriots to drive down the field for the go-ahead field goal.

It's perhaps unfair to single White out for a Patriots pass-rush unit that has struggled to generate pressure without sending extra rushers. But he played the fifth-most pass-rush snaps and recorded zero total pressures, the only Patriot to come up empty while playing at least 15 snaps as a pass-rusher. Anfernee Jennings seemed to become White's replacement later in the game, and even he registered a pressure, despite never being known for his pass-rushing capabilities. White is turning into a major disappointment for the Pats defense, which will want to upgrade his spot in the lineup in the off-season.

After a shaky start to the season, Spillane has started to make plays all over the field for the Patriots defense. And he made his biggest play yet Sunday night, ripping the ball out of Keon Coleman's hands for a forced fumble that helped set up the Patriots' first field goal of the night. Spillane is easily the Pats' best linebacker and he's starting to play like it.

You rarely heard Joey Bosa's name called for the Buffalo Bills, as the veteran edge rusher finished with just one tackle and no official pressure stats while going against Campbell. Initial charting by Pro Football Focus says Campbell allowed just one pressure in 40 pass-blocking snaps, while only right tackle Morgan Moses (zero pressures allowed) had a cleaner sheet. Like many others on the team, Campbell has now stacked two strong performances together, and is showing how much of a difference it can make to have a good left tackle protecting your franchise quarterback.

Next Patriots Ups & Downs will come after the Pats take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 6.