Patriots Vs. Bills Score: Josh Allen Shines As Buffalo Takes Control Of AFC East Race With Win In New England – CBSSports.com

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Buffalo Bills have given themselves a belated Christmas gift. On Sunday, Josh Allen and company strolled into Gillette Stadium and were able to hand the Patriots a 33-21 loss that now has the Bills in control of the AFC East with just two weeks remaining in the regular season. 

Buffalo wasted no time getting ahead in this pivotal divisional showdown as they traveled 61 yards on their opening possession, which culminated in a touchdown pass from Allen to receiver Isaiah McKenzie. From that point until the end of regulation, the Bills would be playing with a lead as New England struggled to get any consistent rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. In the first half, Mac Jones and company had just one touchdown drive while punting three times and turning the ball over via an interception. 

That helped Buffalo get out to a double-digit lead going into the break and they continued that positive momentum in the second half. The Bills scored points on every one of their drives over the final two quarters, outside of taking a knee to ice things in the final seconds. In all, they seven drives that entered the red zone and were able to find the end zone on four of them. 

Josh Allen finished his afternoon completing 30 of his 47 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns. McKenzie was his go-to target for the game as he caught 11 of his 12 targets for a game-high 125 yards to go along with that opening touchdowns. As for the Patriots, Mac Jones completed 14 of 32 for 145 yards and two interceptions. The bulk of their offense came on the ground via Damien Harris, who rushed for 103 yards and scored three touchdowns. 

Why the Bills won

Buffalo had control of this game for basically all four quarters. They came out of the gate with a touchdown drive and were largely able to move the ball up and down the field with ease, averaging 5.7 yards per play. They didn’t punt once and entered the red zone on seven of their nine offensive possessions on the afternoon. The only other two in which they didn’t get into the red area came at the end of the first half and regular when they were killing clock. As a whole, the Bills totaled 428 yards of total offense, spearheaded by the elite play of Josh Allen. Whenever Buffalo needed a clutch throw or run, the fourth-year quarterback was able to make it. He extended plays with his legs and had 20 passes that resulted in a first down. On the defensive side of the ball, Buffalo held the Patriots in check through the air with just 145 yards passing while Mac Jones completed just 43.7% of his throws, while also creating two turnovers. 

Why the Patriots lost 

For the second week in a row, the Patriots came out flat. They began the game with a rather lifeless three-and-out and then proceeded to allow the Bills to march down the field to score a touchdown to go up by seven. The first half was particularly slow for New England. Outside of one touchdown drive, they punted three times and turned the ball over on their other four possessions over the first two quarters. Even as the offense started to get into a rhythm with back-to-back scoring drives in the second half, there wasn’t much complimentary football as the defense couldn’t prevent the Bills from matching that scoring output.  

Penalties also kept New England behind the eight-ball as well. With just over two minutes left in the first half, Christian Barmore was called for an encroachment infraction that turned a fourth-and-7 attempt for the Bills into a fourth-and-2. At the time, the Patriots were trailing by just a field goal, so there was an opportunity to get the ball back and possibly take the lead before the break with a stop on fourth down. However, under a more manageable fourth down situation, the Bills were able to convert, extend the drive, and were ultimately able to find the end zone to extend their lead.  On the next offensive possession, left tackle Trent Brown was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty that proved to be a momentum killer as they looked to cut the deficit to less than double digits. The Patriots were driving before that penalty, but then were noticeably deflated after that and eventually punted. 

As for the defensive side, it was a bit curious that there were no adjustments made to stop Bills receiver, Isaiah McKenzie. Myles Bryant was covering McKenzie for the bulk of this game and there was a clear speed advantage that Buffalo was exploiting. Even as it was apparent that Bryant couldn’t cover him, the Patriots didn’t make a switch. 

Turning point

The Bills were clinging to a 26-21 lead at the 4:27 mark of the fourth quarter when Sean McDermott elected to keep his offense on the field on fourth-and-1. It was at that point that Josh Allen faked the inside handoff and rolled out to his left. He was able to beat Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins to the edge and shed a tackle attempt by J.C. Jackson to pick up the critical first down. Not only did that extend the drive for Buffalo and keep them in control of the clock, but they would also add to their lead with a dagger touchdown throw by Allen to Dawson Knox to go up 33-21. 

Buffalo was particularly strong on fourth down in Week 16, converting three of their four attempts. 

Play of the game

One of the more eye-popping examples of just how good Josh Allen was in this win for Buffalo came on this ridiculous third-and-10 conversion in the third quarter. Allen was flushed out to his right with multiple Patriots barreling down on him and it seemed like he was going to be forced to throw it away. However, at the last moment, Allen threw across his body and found Emmanuel Sanders for the first down. That conversion helped extend Buffalo’s drive, which ultimately ended with a field goal.  

What’s next

From here, the Bills will head back to Buffalo to finish out the rest of the season with games against the Atlanta Falcons (Week 17) and New York Jets (Week 18). As for the Patriots, they’ll stick around Foxborough and await the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17 before heading down to Miami for a game against the Dolphins to wrap up the regular season.