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The New England Patriots made sure every team in the NFL had a loss this season, as they pulled off the upset against the Buffalo Bills in a 23-20 win on the road on Sunday night.
After the Denver Broncos defeated the Philadelphia Eagles earlier on Sunday, the Bills were the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL. But Drake Maye and the Patriots came into their AFC East battle with confidence and the right answer for Josh Allen on the defensive side of the ball.
It wasn’t the best start for either team in terms of execution as we had back-to-back fumbles in the first quarter after Allen and Dawson Knox’s handoff fell to the turf. But the Patriots gave it right back as Rhamondre Stevenson, who has had trouble fumbling early this season, was stripped after catching a pass from Maye.
After multiple punts, Keon Coleman, Allen’s trusty wide receiver, uncharacteristically fumbled later in the first quarter as well. Buffalo was also being penalized during their drives, constantly killing momentum.
The Patriots finally got on the board first with a field goal in the first quarter, which Matt Prater of the Bills followed up on in the second quarter. There were no touchdowns by either team in the first half, though the Patriots owned a 6-3 lead entering the locker room.
Both offenses would turn it up in the second half, though, and it began when the Bills used its opening drive to take a 10-6 lead after Curtis Samuel went untouched on a short pass from Allen into the end zone.
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However, Maye had the answer for the Bills, and needed just five plays to do so thanks to a 32-yard catch by Stefon Diggs, who was the game’s leading receiver in his return to Buffalo, a city he was so beloved in for years as Allen’s favorite target. Diggs finished the game with 146 yards on 10 catches.
Stevenson got into the end zone to retake the lead, and the Patriots’ defense once again came through with a turnover to keep momentum on their side. On the ensuing drive, Allen was moving downfield when Marcus Jones jumped a pass intended for Khalil Shakir and intercepted the Bills’ star to flip the field.
Maye used that turnover to go 90 yards on 11 plays, capped by Stevenson’s second touchdown of the night to take a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
But, as we’ve seen so many times in the past, Allen responded when his team needed to do so. Keon Coleman ran his play-action route perfectly from the New England two-yard line and he was uncovered for a short pass from Allen to make it a three-point game.
After getting a stop on the ensuing Patriots drive, Allen had the chance for another touchdown drive to perhaps win the game. But a stellar pass deflection by Christian Gonzalez on third-and-10 made Prater try a field goal just to tie the game.
So, instead of Allen going down the field for the win, it was Maye. With 2:17 left on the clock, Maye was calm as he found Diggs and Keyshon Boutte for chunk yardage as they got into field goal range for rookie Andy Borregales out of Miami.
From 52 yards out, Borregales’ first nail-biting kick couldn’t have gone better, as he split the uprights right down the middle to take the lead with 15 seconds left to play. That was the game, as the Bills were out of timeouts and couldn’t get the clock on their side.
In the box score, Maye was 22-of-30 for 273 yards, while a modest 71 yards rushing from the team was seen. For the Bills, Allen went 22-of-31 for 253 yards with two touchdowns and one interception with Dalton Kincaid his leading receiver with 108 yards on six catches.
The Patriots held James Cook in check throughout the night, too, as he had just 49 yards on 15 rush attempts. Allen led Buffalo in the run game with 53 yards on nine carries.
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