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.
Why the Patriots won
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.
Why the Bills lost
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.
Turning point
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.
Play of the game
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.
What's next
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.