By Joe Buscaliga, Chad Graff and RJ Kraft
With a 24-21 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills remain in pursuit of the AFC’s top seed.
The AFC East champion Bills (12-3) need to win their final two games and see the Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) drop their final two contests to earn home-field privileges in the playoffs and the lone bye in the AFC.
Buffalo fell behind 0-14 before scoring the next 24 points. After virtuoso performances over the last two weeks that saw Buffalo score 90 points, MVP candidate Josh Allen and the offense were contained — by their recent standards. A fumble recovery for a touchdown by Taron Johnson with 10:10 ultimately sealed the game for the Bills.
Bills recover the backwards pass in the end zone!
📺: #NEvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/5M8pN2QBi1— NFL (@NFL) December 22, 2024
Allen finished 16-of-29 passing for 154 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Running back James Cook added two touchdowns — one rushing and one receiving.
New England’s ball control style on offense kept Allen off the field for much of the first half, but three second-half turnovers doomed the Patriots. With the loss, New England (3-12) remains likely to select in the top five of the 2025 NFL Draft — with a chance at the No. 1 selection — and currently holds the No. 2 pick.
In Week 17, the Bills host the New York Jets, while the Patriots host the playoff-hopeful Los Angeles Chargers.
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Brief scare for Allen, Bills fans
There were a nervy few moments for Bills fans, as franchise quarterback Allen had his throwing hand looked at by doctors on the sideline while the Bills scored a defensive touchdown to take a 24-14 lead. As it happened, backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky even took a few snaps from starting center Connor McGovern and threw some passes. Allen tried to throw a few passes to Trubisky, all of which were high and off-target.
As the defense gave him more time, Allen continued to warm up his hand by the heaters, and as he began throwing again on the sideline, he was getting the injury under control. Allen wound up going back into the game with what the team called a right elbow contusion. Either way, the Bills and their MVP candidate averted a major crisis. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer
Cook carries Buffalo’s offense
As the Bills’ offense stumbled out of the gate and had to wake up as they went along, they found themselves relying on Cook. Whether it was on the ground with an explosive play or as a pass-catching option, Cook was the major driver of the offense all game. In fact, he was really the only thing that was consistently working against the Patriots.
Cook’s 126 yards from scrimmage, along with a 46-yard rushing touchdown and a 4-yard receiving touchdown were just enough for the Bills on offense, as the defense figured things out enough to keep impressive rookie quarterback Drake Maye on the losing side. — Buscaglia
James Cook goes 46 yards to the HOUSE.
📺: #NEvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/eVE6GJi7kZ— NFL (@NFL) December 22, 2024
Bills’ defensive depth tested
Heading into the contest with the Patriots, the Bills were without four starting defensive players in linebacker Matt Milano, cornerback Rasul Douglas and both safeties, Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin. It certainly showed early on as their replacements were getting picked on particularly as run defenders. It allowed the Patriots to jump out to a 14-0 lead and stunned the Bills crowd in Orchard Park.
The defense eventually calmed down enough to force punts and multiple turnovers, one of which resulted in a fumble return for a touchdown. While the Bills deserve credit for figuring things out, it’s still a bit worrisome for coach Sean McDermott that a three-win Patriots team was able to push them like that early on. — Buscaglia
Self-inflicted mistakes sink Patriots, Mayo
With this current version of the Patriots, pretty much everything has to go perfectly for them to win — let alone to upset one of the best teams in the NFL on the road. So on this day, it didn’t matter that for long stretches of this game, the Patriots were the better team.
What mattered was that in the biggest moments, the Patriots made self-inflicted mistakes, the kind they’ve made all season with little signs of progress. All of that ups the pressure on Jerod Mayo, the first-year coach who has followed Bill Belichick but so far has been unable to match the paltry four wins he totaled with a similar roster a year ago.
In this one, Mayo abandoned his early aggressiveness and decided to put from midfield while down two scores in a lost season. He has basically nothing to lose but seems to coach scared and often seems in over his head. If the Patriots lose their final two games and finish with three wins, Mayo is going to face a lot of pressure for how his first season went. — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer
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Jerod Mayo and the Patriots are still struggling to learn from their mistakes this season
Maye continues to deliver optimism
Once again, Maye had some really impressive moments even while the rest of his team had plenty of struggles. The rookie quarterback went 22-of-36 passing for 261 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He certainly wasn’t perfect on this day and his interception came on a poorly thrown ball in the end zone.
If the biggest goal of this season was to show promise and potential from Maye, then at least that one area continues to be a success for a franchise badly in need of something to build around for 2025. — Graff
Drake Maye DIME to Boutte for the TD!
📺: #NEvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/lyOsqDG3zs— NFL (@NFL) December 22, 2024
Pats’ defense gashed in run game
The Patriots spent basically all of their offseason resources trying to improve on offense, including using seven of their eight draft picks on that side of the ball, hopeful that Mayo would keep the defense a top-10 unit even if it lacked star power. Instead, the defense is now a total mess. Even on an evening when they did a good job slowing down Allen, the Patriots’ defense still got gashed in the running game.
Cook hit 100 yards rushing on 11 carries, including a 46-yard score. The Bills totaled 172 rushing yards and averaged 6.1 yards per carry. Yes, the Patriots’ defense is undermanned and missing key players they thought would have big roles at the start of the year. But this kind of play ups the pressure on defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington. — Graff
Required reading
(Photo: Timothy T Ludwig / Getty Images)
