ORCHARD PARK – Losing to the New England Patriots is something the Buffalo Bills are quite familiar with. After all, they spent almost the entire first two decades of the 21st century turning that particular endeavor into an art form.
And now, after five glorious years of exacting a little revenge with numerous beatdowns of the Patriots – though not nearly enough – on the way to five straight AFC East titles, Sunday night provided a sobering dose of reality.
The Bills have to wrap their heads around the fact that New England is good again, as was evidenced in its 23-20 victory over the no longer unbeaten Bills in front of a sellout crowd at Highmark Stadium that left the place with their faces as white as the “White Out” jerseys they were wearing.
The Patriots have climbed out of the abyss they were in the past two seasons when they won just eight of 34 games, and they now have a legitimate, respected head coach and a franchise quarterback at their disposal and it sure feels like they’re going to be a major pain for Buffalo, not only this season but in the years to come.
Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 draft, outplayed reigning MVP Josh Allen as he completed 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards and directed a game-winning field goal drive in the final 2:17 to earn the most significant victory of his young career.
“Just a really gutty performance from Drake,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “Just continue to enjoy watching him grow and lead this football team. Being able to come back and execute in a critical situation, take the clock down and win it on our terms. That’s how we practice. We talk about taking the next step.”
Well, the step has been taken and suddenly the Patriots are just one game behind the Bills and have an upcoming schedule nearly as soft as the one the Bills played in the first four weeks – at Saints, at Titans, vs. Browns in the next three weeks.
Here’s how I graded the Bills’ performance:
PASS OFFENSE: C
Allen made his usual array of plays in completing 22 of 31 for 253 yards and two TDs, but his fumble on the game’s first possession and his interception late in the third quarter overshadowed most of that. He tried to hit Khalil Shakir but instead threw the ball to Patriots nickel CB Marcus Jones at the Patriots 10, taking at least three points, but perhaps seven, off the board.
Dalton Kincaid had a big night, the kind we’ve been waiting for since he was picked in the first round in 2023, as he caught six passes for a career-high 108 yards and was the only viable threat in the passing game. Shakir caught six which went for just 45 yards, but that was better than any other WR. Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel each caught TDs, but Coleman also lost a fumble at the Bills 14 which handed New England three points, and Coleman, Samuel and Joshua Palmer combined for only eight receptions for 85 yards.
The Bills are not getting enough from this wide receiver group and that was glaring on the last possession when no one was open on three straight plays and Buffalo was forced to kick a tying field goal rather than score a go-ahead TD. Those three lousy plays set the stage for the Patriots winning drive.
RUN OFFENSE: C
This was the worst game of the year for the offensive line as it had trouble all night handling New England’s talented front led by DTs Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, a menacing twosome. James Cook had a season-low 49 yards and averaged just 3.3 yards, and that’s going to happen when the line isn’t creating the creases it normally does.
Allen’s 53 yards on the ground were almost all on scrambles because the line couldn’t hold up long enough for someone to get open downfield, so hit total inflated the team rushing output to 118 yards. The fumble came on a bad handoff to Dawson Knox on a play the Bills need to scrap. The Bills hadn’t lost a fumble since Week 4 against the Ravens in 2024, but they lost two in this game.
Ray Davis is becoming unplayable as he had two carries for just one yard, while Ty Johnson gained 10 yards on two attempts, though he did have a nice run called back on one of Buffalo’s 11 total penalties. The line committed four of those, three by C Connor McGovern.
PASS DEFENSE: D
The Bills have a big problem in the secondary right now because Tre’Davious White is a shell of his former self and Christian Benford, who had worked himself into the conversation as one of the best CBs in the NFL, has been anything but that through five weeks. Former teammate Stefon Diggs toyed with both of them on his way to 10 catches for 146 yards.
White was targeted frequently and in addition to giving up several completions he was nailed for a pass interference on a third-and-12 that gave the Patriots a first down late in the first half as they drove for a field goal.
Maye completed passes in all areas of the field, and this was partly because the Bills’ pass rush let him escape the pocket to his right where he was able to avoid a loss and turn it into a productive play. It happened twice on the final possession when both DaQuan Jones and Joey Bosa had him in their grasp but couldn’t get him down. On the first he completed a 12-yard pass to Diggs, and later he avoided Bosa for a sack that would have put the Patriots on the long end of kicker Andy Borregales’ range for the winning kick. As it was, he still had to make it from 52 yards.
Greg Rousseau had his best game of the season by far as he had a sack, at second ackle for loss and three QB hits, and AJ Epenesa was also active as he had a half-sack with Deone Walker and a tipped pass.
RUN DEFENSE: B
The Patriots didn’t really bother trying to establish the ground game against the 31st-ranked NFL run defense because it was clear early on that Buffalo’s pass defense was vulnerable. TreyVon Henderson had 24 yards, Antonio Gibson 21 before he got hurt, and Rhamondre Stevenson had only 14. Even the mobile Maye ran just three times for 12 yards because he didn’t need to scramble for yards, he was almost always able to find a receiver when he was flushed. On the downside, both New England TDs were scored by Stevenson from in close on plays where the Bills provided almost no resistance.
The Bills had to play practice squad elevations Jordan Zion Logue and Phidarian Mathis at DT along with Jones and Walker, so it was a little surprising that New England didn’t test them more.
Matt Milano got hurt again and missed the second half, but Shaq Thompson filled in well and was one of the Bills’ better players on defense, at least watching live. The rewatch might say different, but he had five tackles, one for lost yardage which went for a zero-yard sack, and a forced fumble which was recovered by Terrel Bernard.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B+
The Patriots had a distinct advantage in the return game but the Bills did a nice job neutralizing that. New punter Mitch Wishnowsky averaged just 35 yards net, but both were placed and prevented a return by the NFL’s leading punt return man, Marcus Jones. On kickoffs, the Patriots averaged a mundane 22.4 yards and Antonio Gibson nearly lost a fumble that was forced by Cam Lewis which would have been a huge play had Buffalo’s Javon Solomon recovered.
On the flip side, Samuel once again replaced healthy scratch Brandon Codrington on kickoffs and he averaged a healthy 28 yards. If that continues, it would appear Codrington’s days are numbered when the Bills need roster spots for returning defenders Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi.
Matt Prater made all of his kicks – two field goals, two conversions – and did a nice job on kickoffs. He has been rock solid in Tyler Bass’ place.
COACHING: C-
This was not a good night for offensive coordinator Joe Brady. He got too cute and it burned the Bills a few times, most glaringly when it looked like Dawson Knox was supposed to take a handoff on a jet sweep and he and Allen fumbled the exchange.
I thought Brady got away from the run game and Cook, and the usage of Davis down near the goal line in the fourth quarter was nonsensical. The Bills were fortunate that it didn’t matter on that possession when Allen hit Coleman with a TD pass that cut the deficit to 20-17.
On defense, the Bills are shorthanded, plain and simple. Without Ed Oliver, Hoecht, Ogunjobi plus another injury to Milano, they did well enough to keep the Bills in the game, but this time the offense let them down.
And then there were the penalties – 11 of them for 90 yards. Inexcusable, and it came one week after the Bills had 11 penalties for 55 yards against the Saints. Sean McDermott’s fundamentals took a beating in the last two weeks.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills report card: Drake Maye outduels Josh Allen to end Buffalo’s unbeaten streak
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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