Image courtesy of ESPN
FOXBOROUGH – This was supposed to be a day like so many back in the mid-2000s.
Tailgates were firing by 9:00 a.m. Rte. 1 was backed up by 9:30.
Snowy, sold out Gillette Stadium was rocking on Sunday and for a while, it seemed like there would be quite a celebration for the new AFC East champs as the Patriots built two 21-point leads in the first half.
But, no one told the Bills they were supposed to just go away.
Led by Josh Allen (19-28, 193 yards, 3 TD), Buffalo mounted a furious second half comeback and ultimately, came into Foxborough and stole a 35-31 win from the Patriots, snapping their 10-game winning streak.
New England drops to 11-3 while Buffalo kept its playoff and division hopes alive, moving to 10-4.
“I mean, we weren’t able to get any stops. When we had an opportunity to make a play, we weren’t able to make it. Penalties. And that’s how this game goes,” said Mike Vrabel postgame. “A few small plays make the difference. We were very prepared for this team to — we were going to need 60 minutes to beat this team. This is a good football team.
“We had a lot of good football in there. And we had a lot of plays that, a few plays we’d like to have back that we’ll have to learn from.
New England led 14-0 after one on two different touchdown runs for Drake Maye of eight and seven yards. Early in the second, a 52-yard touchdown run by TreVeyon Henderson (14/148/2 TDs) made it 21-0.
Kickoff coverage was a problem for the Pats on Sunday and a big return on the ensuing kick for Buffalo set the Bills up at the New England 42. Seven plays later, Allen hit James Cook (22 carries, 107 yards, 2 TDs, 3 catches, 15 yards) for a five-yard TD to cut it to 21-7 with 1:56 remaining in the half. Andy Borregales made it 24-7 heading into the break with a 36-yard field goal as time expired.
“I think you come back tomorrow. And once you watch the tape and hang out with teammates and talk about it, you flush it after tomorrow and get back on Tuesday for a new week and another tough opponent,” Maye said when asked how long this one may linger. “We’ve got to flush it and know that this is what the NFL is. It’s any given week and it’s on to the next.”
Another huge kick off return set Buffalo up at the Pats’ 44 to open the third quarter. Just five plays later, Allen hit Dawson Knox for a four-yard touchdown to cut it to a 10-point game. After an immediate three-and-out for the Patriots, the Bills put together an 11-play, 70-yard drive – largely aided by a Jaylinn Hawkins PI call on third down – and finished it with a short TD run for Cook.
New England embarked on a seven-play drive that reached the Bills’ 43, but penalties on the O-line soon forced a 3rd-&-25 and what amounted to an interception that was basically a punt for Maye (14-23, 155 yards), who was picked off by Tre’Davious White at the Pats’ nine-yard line with 1:30 left in the third.
The ensuing 13-play Bills drive extended into the fourth quarter. Buffalo took its first lead of the game with 10:03 left when Allen hit Dalton Kincaid for a 14-yard TD on 3rd-&-goal, making it 28-24. That drive was helped by a PI call on Marcus Jones on 4th-&-3.
Just one play after the kickoff, Henderson made Gillette Stadium shake, ripping off a 65-yard touchdown run to quickly put the Patriots back in front 31-28. Buffalo didn’t waste much time, scoring seven plays later – again getting helped out by a DPI call, this time on Carlton Davis III – with Cook rumbling in from 11-yards out for the 35-31 lead.
New England got the ball back with 2:43 left at its own 17, but promptly turned the ball over on downs with 1:47 remaining. One first down for Buffalo and a few kneel downs ended it.
The loss certainly doesn’t end any playoff hopes or anything like that and the win streak was bound to end eventually. But now, the Patriots must regroup quickly and get ready to go play in prime time next Sunday night against a desperate Ravens team.
The division is still there for the taking as is the No. 1 seed, but things just got much more difficult than they seemed when Patriots Nation woke up on Sunday morning.
“It’s huge, huge for me to get the guys going, getting the guys going back in practice, let them know that this is what it’s about, bouncing back and responding,” Maye said when asked about his role leadership wise when it comes to responding to a missed opportunity at home. “And we have a lot of football ahead of us, and we’ve got to appreciate that and don’t take that for granted and learn from it. But like I say, got a big one next Sunday night, and we’re on the road again. It’s going to be a tough one, another good football team.”
“We have an opportunity to improve like we have when we won, the same as today when we lost and came up short,” added Vrabel. “There’s a lot of good stuff in there that I’m proud of and that we’ll be able to use as a positive, and a lot of stuff that we have to correct and make sure that we fix.
“And we’ll do that tomorrow and try to get as healthy as we can and put a plan together for Baltimore.”