The Bills offense tied an NFL record for eight consecutive games scoring 30+ points. However, in a game where the offense was struggling to find its stride, and the defense was missing four starters (Matt Milano, Rasul Douglas, Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin), Buffalo narrowly defeated the three-win New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium.
Patriots Come to Play
New England held a 14–0 lead in the second quarter, thanks to early success on both sides of the ball. Receiving the opening kickoff, running back Antonio Gibson returned the kick 42 yards to give rookie QB Drake Maye good starting field position. Maye hit tight end Hunter Henry for eight yards on 3rd and 8 to keep the drive alive, and a 14 yard pass interference penalty on Baylon Spector moved them into scoring range. Facing another third down, Maye went deep to Kayshon Boutte down the sideline, who hauled in the catch for a 28 yard touchdown while working against Kaiir Elam.
Buffalo’s offense failed to respond, picking up one first down thanks to a tush push on 3rd and 1, but punting three plays later after back-to-back incomplete passes from Josh Allen.
New England possessed the ball for almost 10 minutes on their next drive, meticulously moving 91 yards down the field to score a touchdown. Rhamondre Stevenson totaled 24 yards after three consecutive carries, while Maye added 10 yards on the ground on a 3rd and 9 scramble. Henry caught two passes for 22 yards on the drive, including a 12 yard gain on 3rd and 8 to extend the drive. Two plays into the second quarter, Stevenson sliced through the Buffalo defense, breaking a tackle attempt by Cam Lewis for a 14 yard touchdown, giving the Patriots an unexpected 14–0 lead.
LET. JAMES. COOK.
James Cook has had a fantastic season as Buffalo’s lead back, and his impressive 2024 campaign continued on Sunday. Desperate for a spark on offense, he burst through New England’s defense for a 46 yard touchdown to get the Bills on the board. All five offensive linemen, plus Alec Anderson and Reggie Gilliam, had great blocks to open up a lane for Cook on the play. Just like that, the Bills were back in it.
Sloppy Second Quarter
The Bills would go into halftime trailing 14–7, somehow only down one possession despite several mistakes in the second quarter. The kickoff following the Cook touchdown saw a flag on Buffalo for illegal formation, but Buffalo’s defense was able to force a three-and-out. Head Coach Jerod Mayo opted to punt on 4th and 1, and punter Bryce Baringer snapped the ball rather quickly to boot it back to the Bills (*important for later*).
A checkdown to Cook gained 16, thanks to a lead block from Gilliam, and Allen hit Amari Cooper for a 10 yard gain, his first target in two weeks. A false start moved the Bills into a 3rd and 16, causing Allen to look towards the endzone on his next throw. While the pass was intercepted at the goal line by Marte Mapu, it was a perfect “arm-punt” from Allen, pinning the Patriots down at the one yard line when Mapu was tackled by Ty Johnson.
On 3rd and 1, Gibson was stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Dawuane Smoot. On 4th and 1 from their own 23, the punt unit once again quickly ran onto the field and snapped the ball, this time to safety Dell Pettus instead of Baringer. Pettus churned forward for two yards to move the chains, capitalizing on the special teams fake. Three plays later, Buffalo was able to force a legitimate punt from the Patriots.
After two completions for 25 yards to Mack Hollins, three straight incompletions from Allen forced a punt for the Bills. The Patriots attempted a miracle lateral play at the end of the half, but Buffalo defended it well to end the half.
Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers
Buffalo started the second half with the ball and wasted no time moving downfield. Cook took the opening snap 25 yards on the ground, and Allen hit rookie Keon Coleman for a 17 yard gain over the middle. On 3rd and Goal from the four, Allen threw a floater towards the pylon that was caught by Cook out of the backfield for a touchdown.
On New England’s second play of offense, Stevenson fumbled the football after Greg Rousseau knocked it out. Dorian Williams recovered the ball, giving possession back to the Bills at New England’s 42 yard line.
Rookie Ray Davis picked up a first down on the ground, but Allen was sacked three plays later on 3rd and 10 to force a field goal. Tyler Bass drilled the 50 yard kick to give Buffalo a lead for the first time in the game.
Maye connected with Boutte on a 22 yard completion over the middle, and a 13 yard screen to Stevenson put the ball at Buffalo’s 16 yard line. Maye’s next pass was into the endzone, where it was intercepted by Cam Lewis for a touchback.
Allen ran for 12 yards and finally connected with Khalil Shakir on a 10 yard completion to end the third quarter. Buffalo got lucky when Shakir and Cook fumbled in a three-play span, but Shakir recovered his own fumble and O’Cyrus Torrence jumped on the loose ball given up by Cook. A false start turned 3rd and 4 into 3rd and 9, and Allen’s pass to Dalton Kincaid was incomplete, forcing a punt. At their own 12 yard line, Maye threw a backwards pass to Stevenson out of the backfield. The running back failed to corral the pass as Rousseau came screaming off his block to tackle him. The backwards pass made the ball live, and Taron Johnson recovered it in the endzone for a defensive touchdown.
Bills Hang On
Down by 10 with 10 minutes to play, the Patriots weren’t out of it yet. However, they gained just one first down before punting back to Buffalo. A 17 yard completion to Ray Davis moved the chains for Buffalo, but it was their turn to punt after just one first down.
Maye used his legs once again to extend the drive, picking up 13 on a 4th and 1 read-option. Maye hit tight end Austin Hooper down the middle for 26 yards, while Terrel Bernard was also flagged for unnecessary roughness on the hit at the end of the play. Then, Smoot was drawn offside by a flinch from New England’s right tackle, but the referees called encroachment instead, moving the Pats to the four yard line. After consecutive incomplete passes, Kaiir Elam was flagged for pass interference on 3rd and Goal, resetting the downs for New England. Jordan Phillips burst through the offensive line to help impede Gibson for a loss of three, with rookie Cole Bishop finishing the job with the tackle for loss. After a second down incompletion, Elam was flagged again for pass interference on third down, this time with more egregious contact without turning around to locate the ball. A touchdown pass from Maye to Demario Douglas was overturned after instant replay showed the ball hitting the ground before Douglas had possession, and Maye dropped the snap on 2nd and Goal for an eight yard loss. Finally, on 3rd and Goal from the nine, Maye connected with Henry for a touchdown, bringing the deficit down to three points.
Shakir recovered the onside kick attempt from the Patriots, but it was up to Ty Johnson to close out the game. The Bills ran four straight toss plays to the running back, who picked up 12 on the first play, followed by five, four, and no gain. Allen was tush pushed up the middle on 4th and 1 to ice the game.
Afterthoughts
It wasn’t a pretty win by any means, but sometimes that’s how division games go. Most importantly, the Bills came out on top, and escaped without any major injuries (with Allen saying his hand felt better after hitting his funny bone hard mid-game). It was an off day for Shakir, who only caught two of his six targets, seeing at least half of those go through his hands for drops. I don’t mind Allen’s interception, I’d rather he actually throw it past the first down line on 3rd and long than check it down for a minimal gain. It wasn’t the QB’s best day by any means, but the drops from Shakir could’ve easily fixed his statline.
The defense looked shaky (again) in the first half, but generated three second half turnovers to cover for the struggling offense. Despite New England’s lack of talent along the offensive line, and the fact that Buffalo blitzed Maye regularly, they only recorded one sack on the day. I think the Kaiir Elam experiment can officially be declared “over”, after getting beat deep several times and getting flagged multiple times too during the course of the game.
Game Awards
Offensive Player of the Game: James Cook
Cook finished with 100 rushing yards (on just 11 carries) and a team-high 26 receiving yards, adding a touchdown both on the ground and in the air. He provided a constant spark for the Bills in a game where it was difficult to string completions together and get the receivers involved.
Defensive/Special Teams Player of the Game: Tyler Bass
Occasionally I need to recognize a special teamer for their performance, and that’s the case for Bass from Sunday. He was perfect on extra points, plus drilled a 50 yard field goal down the middle, which ended up being the difference in the game. While I don’t know if I can fully trust him in big moments, there’s no question he has the leg to make any kick he attempts.
MVP: Taron Johnson
Buffalo’s nickel corner finished with three total tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, his second score of the season. Last year he was a second-team All Pro thanks to the addition of the slot corner position to the team, and he should be in store for similar recognition this season due to his play every week.
What’s Next: Bills vs Jets 12/29
Aaron Rodgers and the Jets come to Buffalo for another AFC East matchup, but there’s a chance the Bills could already be locked into the #2 seed in the AFC by Sunday. If the Chiefs beat the Steelers and Texans beat the Ravens on Christmas Day, then Buffalo may look to rest their starters against New York.
Editor’s babble: Many thanks to Colin Richey for his terrific postgame analyses and contributions to our blog. You can also find Colin on Xwitter @whatthef00tball. Happy Holidays!
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