Bills beat Patriots with strong defensive second half
ORCHARD PARK, NY (WHEC) – The Buffalo Bills host the New England Patriots in a late-season AFC East Clash on Sunday.
Follow along this article for drive-by-drive updates.
FOURTH QUARTER
-Khalil Shakir received the onside kick attempt from the Patriots. Bills take over at New England’s 48-yard line with 1:13 to go. Ty Johnson picked up a first down on the first play of the series, taking the ball 12 yards. Johnson then ran the ball three more times, picking up nine yards to set up 4th & 1 with 10 seconds to go in the game. Allen snuck for one yard and the Bills won 24-21.
-New England drove 75 yards on 13 plays including 10 plays inside the Bills 10. Drake Maye found Hunter Henry for a nine-yard touchdown pass on 3rd & Goal. Bills leads 24-21 with 1:13 left to go.
-Buffalo matched the Patriots punt six plays later.
-New England, down 10 points, punted the ball from their own 46-yard line on 4th & 6. Bills take over with a 24-14 lead at their own nine-yard line with 8:26 left.
-On the second play of New England’s ensuing drive, Drake Maye lateraled the ball with Rhamondre Stevenson dropping the ball. Taron Johnson fell on the ball in the endzone to take a 24-14 lead with 10:10 left in regulation.
-To start the fourth quarter, Buffalo picked up their drive to end the third and got to New England’s 35-yard line before a false start pushed them out of field goal range and an incomplete pass from Josh Allen forced the Bills to punt. Bills still lead 17-14 with 11:00 left in regulation.
THIRD QUARTER
-Bills pick up 26 yards on four plays heading into fourth quarter. Buffalo will start fourth quarter at their own 35, up 17-14.
-The Patriots turned the ball over twice in as many drives when Cam Lewis picked off Drake Maye’s pass. Bills still lead 17-14 with 1:52 left in the third quarter.
-Buffalo settled for a field goal, driving just 10 yards before Tyler Bass nailed a 50-yard field goal. Bills lead for the first time all game, 17-14 with 6:02 left in the third.
-Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled on the Patriots’ ensuing drive, Buffalo takes over at New England’s 42-yard line.
-Bills received the opening kickoff of the third quarter and on their first offensive play of the second half, James Cook raced for 25 yards. Later in the drive, Allen found Keon Coleman for 17 yards and the Bills found themselves inside the 10-yard line on three plays. Then on 3rd & goal, Allen lofted a pass to James Cook from four yards out. Buffalo ties it up 14-14 with 9:41 left in the third quarter.
HALFTIME STATS
BILLS
-Josh Allen: 9/17, 78 yards, INT
-James Cook: two carries for 50 yards, TD, two catches for 22 yards
-Mack Hollins: two catches for 25 yards
SECOND QUARTER
-Starting at their own 20, New England picked up 24 yards on two plays before setting up near midfield with two seconds left in the half. Drake Maye’s pass was complete but the fumblerooski attempt fell short of the endzone. Patriots lead 14-7 at halftime, Bills will receive second-half kickoff.
-The Bills looked, to tie the game heading into halftime, running a two-minute drill but their drive stalled at their own 44-yard line and punted back. Buffalo trails 14-7 with 13 seconds left in the first half and will receive the second half kickoff.
-Ultimately, New England punted after the two-minute warning after running nine plays for 33 yards and eating 6:01 of the clock. Buffalo takes over at their own 20 trailing 14-7 with 1:48 left in the half.
-The Patriots took over at their own one-yard line and quickly 22 yards on six plays before faking a punt on 4th & 1 and converting it to keep the drive alive.
-Buffalo began their drive with four straight positive plays, adding up to 20 yards. The Bills followed up with an incomplete pass, a one-yard loss, and a false start before Josh Allen threw an interception in the endzone on 3rd & 16. Patriots take over at their own one-yard line with a 14-7 lead and 7:57 left in the half.
-With 11:56 left in the second quarter, the Patriots began their third offensive series of the game, but Buffalo’s defense forced a stop for the first time all game. After a three-and-out, New England punted back to the Bills. Buffalo takes over at their own 31-yard line, still trailing 14-7 with 10:58 left in the first half.
-On the Bills second drive of the game, they picked up 19 yards through the air on five on the ground before James Cook took off 46 yards and gave Buffalo their first score of the game. Bills trail 14-7 with 11:56 left in the second quarter.
-Patriots capped off a 15-play, 91-yard drive with a 14-yard Rhamondre Stevenson run. New England takes a 14-0 lead with 14:16 left in the second quarter.
FIRST QUARTER
-Looking to take a two-score lead, the Patriots marched down the field, driving 46 yards to get into Buffalo territory before Drake Maye scrambled to pick up a 3rd & 9 and keep the Buffalo defense on the field. Three plays later, New England did it again, converting on 3rd & 8 with a pass to Hunter Henry for 12 yards. The Patriots will start the second quarter with 1st & Goal at the Bills eight-yard line.
-Buffalo could not answer New England’s game-opening touchdown, picking up just 11 yards on six plays before punting. New England leads 7-0 with 9:13 left in the first quarter.
-New England converted on a 3rd & 8 as Drake Maye found Hunter Henry for eight yards to put the Pats in Buffalo territory. The Patriots then were helped with a defensive pass interference call on Greg Rousseau before Maye found Kayshon Boutte for a 28-yard score. New England leads 7-0 with 12:01 left in the first quarter.
-Bills kickoff to Patriots to start the game.
PREGAME
Buffalo Bills gameday basics:
- Teams: Buffalo Bills (11-3) and New England Patriots (3-11)
- Kickoff: 4:25 pm, Sunday
- Location: Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, NY)
- Network: CBS
What’s at stake?
The Bills have already clinched an AFC East title, but still have plenty to play for, trailing the Kansas City Chiefs by 1.5 games for the top spot in the AFC standings. The Chiefs play the Houston Texans on Saturday at 1 pm so the Bills will know if they can earn a game back on Kansas City by Sunday’s kickoff. If KC loses two out of their final three regular-season games and Buffalo wins out, the Bills would earn the one seed over the Chiefs. Buffalo can also earn a stronger hold on the two-seed over the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) with a win on Sunday.
The Patriots hold the all-time record over the Bills with a 78-50-1 record, but Buffalo holds a 7-2 in their last nine meetings–which is also the first nine meetings after the Tom Brady era. Last year, the two squads split the regular-season series with the Patriots beating the Bills 29-25 in week seven, Buffalo avenged the loss at home on New Year’s Eve.
The matchup also marks the Bills first game against Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. Mayo, 3-11, was hired after the team mutually parted ways with legendary head coach Bill Belichick this past offseason. Maye was the third-overall draft pick earlier this year and has 14 total touchdowns (12 passing, two rushing) with nine interceptions on the season.
Buffalo Bills player to watch: Josh Allen
The Bills are still on the hunt for the one seed, but trailing the Chiefs by two games with just three weeks to go does not bode well for Buffalo’s chances. That doesn’t mean the Bills have nothing to play–every game matters, but the stakes this week or a lot lower than they were this time last year, when Buffalo was 8-6 and needed to win out to make the postseason.
This year, the Bills have already earned a spot at the dance and a lot of that has been thanks to the play of quarterback Josh Allen. Allen currently leads the race for MVP, but could use a couple more stellar late-season stellar performances to solidify his case. In his last seven games against the Pats, Allen has thrown for 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions while adding another three scores on the ground. New England owns the 23rd-ranked scoring defense in the NFL, allowing 24.1 points per contest while Allen’s 37 total touchdowns is tied for the NFL lead heading into week 16.
Josh Allen has had a stellar season and especially a stellar December (14 touchdowns in three games), but could really hammer home his claim for MVP with another big performance on Sunday at home.
The Bills offense could set an NFL record for most-consecutive 30+ point performances in a single season if they can pass said threshold against the Patriots. The streak, at eight games currently, is tied with the 2000 Rams, 2007 Patriots, 2010 Patriots and 2013 Broncos currently.
Injury update as of Friday, December 20
The Bills announced that cornerback Rasul Douglas, linebacker Matt Milano, and safeties Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin–all defensive starters are out for Sunday’s game. In addition to those four, wide receiver Curtis Samuel, tackle Tylan Grable and defensive tackle DeWayne Carter are all inactive as well.