The New England Patriots hit a go-ahead 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the game to knock off the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills by a final score of 23-20. This was New England’s first win at Highmark Stadium since 2021.
The Bills made several uncharacteristic mistakes. They were penalized 11 times for 90 yards. They also gave the ball away three times after recording just one turnover in the first four games of the season.
A good-looking drive by the Bills ended with their second giveaway of the season. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen botched a handoff when he was bumped into by tight end Dawson Knox. That loose fumble was picked up by Patriots rookie defensive lineman Joshua Farmer. Unfortunately for the Pats, Rhamondre Stevenson was stripped of the football on the next play, giving the Bills the ball back on their own 38. Stevenson leads the league in lost fumbles with three on the campaign.
Amazingly, another Bills fumble happened towards the end of the first quarter. After Buffalo wideout Keon Coleman was stripped of the football, it was picked up by the Patriots in the red zone, where New England actually somehow lost yards. Regardless, they were close enough to attempt a chip-shot field goal from 30 yards out to go ahead 3-0 heading into the second frame.
Facing a one-score deficit, the Bills decided to stop screwing around on offense. Josh Allen hit tight end Dalton Kincaid for 13 yards and then wideout Joshua Palmer for another 23 yards to get into New England territory. The drive stalled in the red zone, so Buffalo settled for a 3-3 tie after a 31-yard field goal.
The Bills had a lot of mental errors in the first half of this game. They were penalized seven times for 54 yards, had two giveaways, went 0/1 in the red zone, and allowed a sack. By comparison, the Patriots only had two accepted penalties called against them in the first two quarters of the game.
The Pats got on the board once more before the break. Quarterback Drake Maye hit tight end Hunter Henry for 22 yards to get into the red zone. Drake Maye picked up another nine yards on the ground to make it to the seven with 37 seconds left in the half. After a defensive pass interference call got the Pats to the one, Drake Maye failed to complete a pass to Hunter Henry, so the Pats had to kick a field goal for a 6-3 halftime lead.
It was a good night for Buffalo tight end Dalton Kincaid, who caught six passes for 108 yards. His 20-yard reception on the first drive of the third quarter got the Bills past midfield. That eventually led to a walk-in touchdown pass from Josh Allen to wideout Curtis Samuel for the game’s first TD, putting Buffalo on top 10-6. That was Samuel’s third catch of the season.
Former Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs came to play against his old team. On the Pats’ first series of the third quarter, he caught two passes for 48 yards, which set up a four-yard touchdown run by Rhamondre Stevenson to put New England back in front 13-10. Diggs finished the evening with ten catches for a game-high 146 yards.
Buffalo picked up 33 yards on their next possession after the Pats were penalized for unnecessary roughness on the tail-end of an 18-yard reception by wideout Khalil Shakir. On a 3rd and 5, Josh Allen connected with Dalton Kincaid for a 17-yarder to get the ball into the red zone. From there, things took a surprising turn when Josh Allen threw his first interception of the season, killing a drive that could’ve tied the game.
Drake Maye was solid in this one, completing 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards and 12 rushing yards. He hit Hunter Henry and Stefon Diggs for 54 total yards to get down to Buffalo’s six yard line. Two plays later, Rhamondre Stevenson took a halfback pitch into the end zone untouched for a seven-yard TD to extend the Patriots’ lead to 20-10 early in the fourth quarter.
At this point, New England began to shoot itself in the foot. They were penalized for personal fouls on back-to-back plays to get the Bills to the Pats’ 26. After Buffalo got into the red zone, they were faced with a 3rd and 1 at the five. Josh Allen picked up the first down easily by using the Bills’ version of the tush push. On the very next play, Josh Allen hit Keon Coleman in the back of the end zone for a toe-tapping touchdown to cut into the lead 20-17 with 7:37 left in the fourth. That was Coleman’s first TD catch since Week One.
After a Patriots three-and-out, Buffalo’s offense took the field with just under six minutes to go in the game. On a 3rd and 6, Josh Allen hit Keon Coleman on the sideline for a 13-yard pickup to keep the Bills’ drive alive. However, the series died out at New England’s 27, so Buffalo kicked a field goal to tie the game 20-20 with 2:17 left in the fourth.
Drake Maye made an amazing pass to Stefon Diggs for a 12-yard pickup to bring this one to the two-minute warning. While the clock was running, Maye connected with wide receiver Kayshon Boutte for 19 yards to get the ball onto Buffalo’s side of the field with 1:18 to go. On a 3rd and 5, Drake Maye was sacked for zero yards, allowing the Pats to attempt a 52-yard field goal with 20 seconds left on the clock. They nailed that kick to go ahead 23-20 with only 15 seconds remaining in the game.
By the time Buffalo’s offense took the field, they only had eight seconds left to pick up 50 to 60 yards and get into field goal range. Josh Allen completed a pass, but the receiver was tackled in the field of play, causing the clock to run out and giving New England the victory.
With the loss, there are no more undefeated teams in the NFL. This also represented the first career game-winning drive for Drake Maye.
*Author’s note: all information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
