Patriots Ups & Downs: Who stood out in a crushing loss to the Bills?

The New England Patriots lost for the first time since Week 3 on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, collapsing in the second half in a 35-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Here's who we ultimately graded UP or DOWN based on their overall performance, in a game defined by two notably different halves of football...

Maye's first-half passer rating: 107.6. Second-half passer rating: 18.4. Maye's accuracy took a noticeable dip in the third and fourth quarters. If he wants to be MVP, and especially if he wants to make a run in the playoffs or sniff a Super Bowl, he'll need to play his best football in the biggest moments. He's certainly done that at times this season, including in a Week 5 win at Buffalo. But Sunday was a reminder that the Patriots quarterback, while emerging as a true franchise guy, is not invincible.

The Patriots' entire kick return coverage unit should get a DOWN here. But we'll pin it on the guy that's usually their special teams ace. Schooler committed another penalty in a season filled with them, which shortened the field and set up a breezy touchdown drive. But those kick returns were the worst: an unacceptable 41.0-yard average allowed. This entire group needs to correct their issues in a hurry, because gifting short fields to elite quarterbacks is a recipe for losing.

Also an honorable mention in this section for left guard Jared Wilson, who made an impact in his return, most notably making the final block Henderson needed to break off a 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. But Henderson continued to show why the Patriots made him a second-round draft pick in the first place. He's a home run hitter with the ball in his hands, and sometimes he does it virtually all by himself. Next step: make that kind of impact in the passing game, in addition to the run.

Bills tight ends burned the Patriots for six combined catches, 71 yards, and most notably two touchdowns. Woodson has been one of the Patriots' defensive snap leaders and their primary coverage tight end, and didn't look like he could keep up with his assignments on Sunday. This spot could go to almost anyone in the secondary, frankly. But Woodson was one player that will come away from this one with some things to fix.

With Robert Spillane unable to go, Gibbens had to step up in a big way. He did, in the first half, anyway. He totaled nine tackles, to go with a sack and two total tackles for loss, in an admirable fill-in game for Spillane.

Onwenu got credited with a sack and two total pressures allowed, and also committed a holding penalty that helped stall out a critical fourth-quarter drive. The veteran guard has been too hit-or-miss since signing a lucrative extension with the Patriots, and he'll certainly need to be better than he was on Sunday down the stretch and into the playoffs.