The New England Patriots have snapped their three-game losing streak and earned their first victory of the season at Gillette Stadium by fending off the Buffalo Bills, 29-25. Bill Belichick's team came into this AFC East divisional matchup as the biggest home underdog in Foxborough since 2001 but played the Bills tough out of the gate.
The Patriots were able to build up a quick 10-point lead over their first two drives of the afternoon large in part because of a Jabrill Peppers interception off of Josh Allen on his first dropback of the game. Throughout the first half, Buffalo's offense continued to stall out, which provided a double-digit cushion for New England at halftime.
Buffalo started to show life in the second half and even took the lead coming out of the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter when Allen rushed for a goal-line touchdown following a fumble by Patriots wideout Kendrick Bourne. With under two minutes to play and trailing by a field goal, Mac Jones led the offense 75 yards down the field thanks to several chunk plays -- specifically a 34-yard catch and run by Rhamondre Stevenson -- that culminated in a game-winning touchdown reception by Mike Gesicki.
Not only did that snap New England's losing streak, but it also gave Bill Belichick his 300th career regular-season victory, making him just the third head coach in league history to cross that milestone.
Meanwhile, Jones finished the game 25 of 30 for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Bourne was his go-to target for most of the afternoon, catching six of his seven targets for 63 yards and a touchdown. For the Bills, Allen was 27 of 41 for 265 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
The Patriots largely played a very clean game on all sides of the ball. At the start of the game, New England ran the ball well, controlled the time of possession, and was able to create a turnover to help build a rare early lead. That allowed them to dictate the game flow through the running game over the first two quarters. After committing seven turnovers during the three-game losing streak, Mac Jones did not commit a single turnover in the win and was hyper-efficient, specifically in the second half where he completed his first seven passes. Jones was smart with the football, had a quick release, and seemed as comfortable in the pocket as he's been all year. Demario Douglas and Kendrick Bourne were heavily featured in the passing game, and given how explosive each of those players are it's not surprising to see the Patriots have arguably the most chunk plays they've had throughout the season.
Defensively, they swarmed Bills ball-carriers and were constantly putting Josh Allen on the move and not allowing him to set his feet. While he did score a touchdown, New England's defense also played Stefon Diggs strong, holding him to just 58 yards receiving.
Once again, the Bills offense got out to a slow start. Buffalo scored just three points through the first two quarters and, reminiscent of last week, really only got moving in the fourth quarter. Josh Allen threw an interception on his first throw of the game which contributed to the Bills digging themselves into a double-digit deficit. Meanwhile, penalties kept sending them in the wrong direction, specifically in the red zone where they were faced with a number of third-and-long situations that they failed to convert. The offensive line also seemed to struggle as Allen was under siege for a solid portion of this game and found himself rolling out on many occasions in the loss, despite only being sacked once. Defensively, the Bills didn't have an answer for New England's quick passing game and allowed what was statistically one of the worst offenses in the league throughout the first six weeks to drive 75 yards down the field in roughly 90 seconds to win the game. That blend of slow starts and poor late-game execution is a concerning development for Sean McDermott's team.
The Kendrick Bourne fumble looked like it was going to be the turning point had the Patriots lost this game as it allowed the Bills to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, but the ultimate swing came to start the game-winning 75-yard touchdown drive. New England got the ball back down by a field goal with just under two minutes to play in regulation when Mac Jones swung the ball out to the right side of the field for Rhamondre Stevenson.
Stevenson then turned upfield for a 34-yard gain that put them at the Buffalo 41-yard line with 1:49 to play. With two timeouts in their pocket, the Patriots could now push the envelope on offense after that chunk play and go for the win rather than play for the game-tying field goal to send the game to overtime.
Of course, we go with the game-winning touchdown from Mike Gesicki, his first as a member of the Patriots. This was just the second catch of the game for the tight end, who signed with New England this offseason. Gesicki had yet to turn in a signature moment with his new club and this certainly fits the bill as he helped finish off the upset and snap the Patriots' three-game losing streak.
From here, the Patriots will head down to Miami to face the Dolphins. As for the Bills, they'll be back in Buffalo in Week 8 where they'll play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
And that'll do it from Foxborough. A thrilling win for the Patriots, who desperately needed that type of momentum shift after a three-game losing skid. That game-winning drive not only snapped the losing streak but also made some history in the process. That win was the 300th of Bill Belichick's career as he is now just the third coach in NFL history to cross the milestone, joining Don Shula and George Halas.
On National Tight End Day in the NFL, Mike Gesicki hauls in the touchdown to give the Patriots the go-ahead score with 12 seconds left.
Jones had Douglas if he put a little more heat on that throw.
Tremendous throw by Mac Jones under pressure to complete at 14-yard pass to Hunter Henry on third-and-8.
And Dawson Knox converts the two-point conversion. It's 25-22 Bills with 1:58 to play. New England has two timeouts to work with.
Josh Allen cashes in for the touchdown to give the Bills the lead coming out of the two-minute warning. Have to go for two here to go up by a field goal.
Oh goodness. A meltdown for the Patriots. Kendrick Bourne -- who scored the latest touchdown -- fumbles the football to give the Bills the ball back inside New England territory.
The Bills are not dead yet. What an escape by Stefon Diggs! He makes a sliding catch on a bullet from Josh Allen, recognizes that he is untouched, and fights his way past two Patriots defenders for the touchdown.
This is the most points the Patriots have scored all season.
Big boy drive by the Patriots that culminates with a Mac Jones touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne. Demario Douglas continues to come up huge for New England and had a key 19-yard catch just a few plays before the score. Penalties are killing any sort of hope for the Bills to avoid the massive upset.
Money pass from Jones.
Pharoah Brown has been a part of some of the biggest plays for this Patriots offense this season and just added another one with a great pass from Mac Jones to flip the field.
Monster fourth down stop for the Patriots. Josh Allen had Dawson Knox open for the first down, hit him in the number, but the tight end dropped the ball to turn the ball over on downs.
Wow! Latavius Murray with a drive-saving conversion on third down. Looked like the Patriots were going to force a three-and-out, but the Bills now have life.
Horrible start to another drive for the Bills. Josh Allen misses Stefon Diggs on what would have likely been a deep touchdown. Next play is a false start.
Smart timeout by Bill Belichick. There seemed to be some substitution confusion with a player running late onto the field with the play clock ticking down. Probably could have gotten the play off, but wise to not rush a rookie kicker. The head coach is rewarded with Ryland netting the 49-yarder to put the Patriots up, 16-10.
That jet sweep is exactly the type of play that the Patriots should be deploying Douglas with on top of his typical work as a receiver. He's such an explosive piece within this offense that you need to get the ball in his hands however you can.
Buffalo's defense is giving the Patriots pass catchers HUGE passing windows on this drive.
James Cook has been superb for the Bills today. He has 47 yards on 10 carries and caught all three of his targets for 46 yards and a touchdown. A big spark for a struggling offense thus far.
A handful of Josh Allen's throws today have been a touch high. That incomplete pass to Kincaid was the latest example. Doesn't matter with Jack Jones getting flagged for roughing the passing to help Buffalo move the chains.
Patriots averaged 6.3 yards per play in the first half. Buffalo finished with just 4.4 yards per play. That has been one of the major differences thus far with the Patriots simply being more effective with their touches. The Bills are also 0-2 in the red zone and, of course, committed the lone turnover of the game.
Mac Jones has struggled holding the football at times today. A couple of throws where he just doesn't appear to have a firm grip on it.
An absolute disaster for the Bills. Their best drive of the day is backed up with a sack of Josh Allen that again put Buffalo in a third-and-long situation deep in Patriots territory. Then, Tyler Bass misses a 42-yard field goal. Yikes.
Could this be the coming out game for Dalton Kincaid? The first-round rookie has been quiet to begin his NFL career, but has come up massive for the Bills on this drive, including that 14-yard reception on third-and-6.
