THIS is especially sweet because the Patriots were expecting to beat the Bills and claim the AFC East championship today before a hometown crowd but they underestimated the Buffalo Bills!!! This has always been a tough rivalry so to be able to snatch victory from them in their stadium is so AWESOME!!!!! Oh I do love my Bills!!! This from the Buffalo Bills and the New York Times.....
Head Coach Sean McDermott addressed the media after the 35-31 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday December 14. Topics include: he return game setting them up with great field position, LB Matt Milano's impressive play, what sparked the team in the second half, getting into a rhythm sooner, second half adjustments, maintaining gap integrity, and TE Dawson Knox breaking the record for most touchdowns receptions by a tight end.
Josh Allen led the Bills to touchdowns on five straight offensive drives, completing a 21-point comeback against the Patriots. Sarah Stier / Getty Images
By Joe Buscaglia, Chad Graff and Tim Graham
Facing down a 21-0 deficit in the second quarter, the Buffalo Bills rallied massively for the second week in a row, this time defeating their AFC East-rival New England Patriots 35-31.
It looked like it would be the Drake Maye show from the get-go, as the Patriots quarterback scored two early rushing touchdowns to give his team a 14-0 advantage in the first quarter. Running back TreVeyon Henderson added a third early in the second quarter to put New England up by 21. But then Buffalo slowly began its ascent, first with a rushing touchdown by running back James Cook as the first half ended.
Pats defense disappears
This was a total collapse by the New England defense.
Against the Bills, it’s hard to be perfect, and there’s no shame when Allen makes some incredible throws or beats you with a couple of big plays.
But after a strong start, the Patriots defense was totally dissected. It couldn’t stop the run, couldn’t get enough pressure on Allen and couldn’t tackle him in the few instances when they got to him.
The Bills scored touchdowns on five straight drives from the end of the second quarter to late in the fourth. There was a questionable pass interference call on the Pats in the fourth quarter, which prolonged one Bills drive, but the defensive struggles were frequent enough that it’s hard to complain about one play when, over and over, the defense didn’t get a stop. In contrast, the Bills defense held New England to one touchdown in the second half.
The Patriots did play without their leading tackler, Robert Spillane, who didn’t log a single snap, likely because of a foot injury, despite being active for the game. And they also were without Milton Williams, who remains on injured reserve. But that defensive performance wasn’t because two players were out. That was one team simply being better. — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer
Pats’ division outlook
In blowing that lead, the Patriots squandered a chance to win the AFC East for the first time since Tom Brady left. But, despite how things feel after losing to the Bills, the Patriots are still set up just fine to win the division. Their three remaining games are against teams with records of .500 or worse — at the Ravens (7-7), at the Jets (3-11) and versus the Dolphins (6-7).
If they win all three, they’ll win the AFC East. Even if they go 2-1, they’d still be in good shape, since they currently own the tiebreaker over the Bills (which is record within the division).
So things still shape up well for the Patriots to host a playoff game. It’s just hard to feel great about that, especially moments after squandering a chance to celebrate a division title against the team that’s owned the AFC East the last five years. — Graff
Maye the rusher
After struggling this season in the red zone, the Patriots unveiled a new plan inside the 10 — quarterback rushes.
Under head coach Mike Vrabel, the Patriots have been hesitant to design running plays for Maye, even in spite of how well he has scrambled. But against the Bills, the Patriots unleashed a couple of new additions to the offensive playbook.
The Patriots scored their first touchdown on a zone read where Maye kept the ball and ran for an 8-yard touchdown. Later in the first quarter, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called for a delayed quarterback draw, which yielded a big hole for Maye to run through on an easy 7-yard touchdown run.
He entered Sunday’s game with two touchdown rushes all season, and had two in the first quarter alone. Maye had yet another good game as a passer too, but if the Patriots can lean on him as a runner to help cure their red zone woes, that could be a big boost in the playoffs. — Graff
Chunk plays from Henderson
The Patriots drafted TreVeyon Henderson in the second round to add explosiveness to their stagnant running game.
And while that phase of the offense is still pretty boom-or-bust, Henderson added some more big plays on Sunday.
He had touchdown runs of 52 and 65 yards, becoming the first Patriots player since at least 2000 with four rushes of 50-plus in a single season. Those four explosive plays are tied with Saquon Barkley (2018) for the most by a rookie since 2000.
Henderson finished with 14 carries for 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The second touchdown was the more impressive of the two. The Pats gave him a toss to the right in the fourth quarter, but after Henderson didn’t find any room to run there, he changed directions and cut to the left, running all the way to the opposite sideline for his 65-yard score. Maye was alongside Henderson for nearly the entire run, which briefly gave the Pats the lead again in the fourth quarter. — Graff
Milano steps up 
#58
Bills linebacker Matt Milano picked a great week for some splash plays. The often-injured former All-Pro has shown every bit of his 31 years for much of the year and hadn’t recorded a sack since opening night. But he notched a pair of takedowns in the second half and added his first forced fumble since 2023. Both sacks led to three-and-out punts that were crucial to getting Buffalo back into the game because, throughout the first half, the Patriots offense looked unstoppable.
With middle linebacker Terrel Bernard deactivated again with an elbow injury and top cornerback Christian Benford scratched with a toe injury, Milano and Shaq Thompson needed to step up against a streaking opponent, an MVP-caliber quarterback and a game-breaking tailback. Milano also led the Bills with 10 tackles, his nine solos more than double his next-closest teammate. — Tim Graham, Bills beat writer
RB Davis key to win 
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A salute to Bills kickoff returner Ray Davis. The backup running back has been volcanic the past few weeks, and without him, the Bills probably don’t recover from a three-touchdown deficit. Davis gave Buffalo possession on the good side of the 50-yard line three times on his first five returns. Two were converted into touchdowns. Davis finished with four returns and a career-high 164 yards. In Week 11, he made four returns for 158 yards to help beat the Buccaneers, and four nights later, in a loss to the Texans, he had three returns for 145 yards, including a 97-yard touchdown. — Graham
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