The New England Patriots appeared to have the AFC East wrapped up when they jumped to a 21-0 lead over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. However, they failed to finish the job and eventually saw the reigning
champions claw their way back and eventually leave Gillette Stadium with a 35-31 win in hand.
Here is a Patriots-centric view at some of the key moments of the game.
Moment No. 1: Opening drive statement
With the Bills opting to defer to the second half after winning the coin toss, the Patriots opened the game with the ball. They made the most of the opportunity, marching 73 yards in eight plays to score the first touchdown of the afternoon.
The first big play of the series came on a 3rd-and-7 at the New England 45-yard line. Drake Maye connected with one of his favorite targets, Kayshon Boutte, deep down the right sideline for the conversion and a gain of 30 yards. While there was some debate whether or not the ball may have moved on what was a tremendous catch either way, the Patriots did a good job hurrying to the line to get the next play off in time.
Four plays after Maye found Boutte for the big gain, he took matters into his own hands. On a rare quarterback option run, the sophomore kept the ball and 8 yards later was in the end zone for the score.
Moment No. 2: Drake Maye, running threat
Maye starting the scoring was not the only time he did damage with his legs on Sunday. On the Patriots’ second drive, he had two more big runs, including a 7-yard touchdown to put the Patriots up 14-0 in the late first quarter. As opposed to his first score, this one did not come off a design but instead saw Maye improvise to find a hole in the defense and his way into the end zone.
Moment(s) No. 3: Big play Tre
TreVeyon Henderson has been a home-run threat for the Patriots for much of his rookie season so far, but he took his game to another level against Buffalo. Granted, the Bills’ run defense has had its weaknesses this season, but the second-round draft pick still managed to burst free for two big scores.
The first came in the second quarter, when he found the end zone from 52 yards out to put New England up 21-0. Henderson’s elite speed, which was a key selling point in the pre-draft process coming out of Ohio State, was on full display on the score.
In the fourth quarter, after the Patriots had fallen behind 28-24, he reversed course and found the end zone on a 65-yard scamper with an assist by his quarterback His two scores of 50-plus yards now give him four such touchdowns on the season, tying the all-time NFL rookie record — a small consolation price given the game’s eventual outcome.
Moment No. 4: Clawing back
The Patriots had jumped to a 21-0 lead thanks to Henderson’s first big touchdown of the afternoon, but the Bills were not dead yet. They answered that particular score with a touchdown drive of their own by — in what was a theme for the afternoon — managing to take advantage of Patriots special teams issues and starting to exploit holes in New England’s defense.
Moment No. 5: Tide turning
The Patriots were up 24-7 coming out of the half, but when they gave up a touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter the tide began to shift. Sure, New England was still up by 10 points, but it appeared Buffalo had found its rhythm — especially with the Patriots offense suddenly beginning to stall.
Slowly but steadily, one touchdown after the other, the lead the home team had built earlier began to disappear.
Moment No. 6: Nail in the coffin
The Patriots went up 31-28 on TreVeyon Henderson’s second touchdown run, but they just could not get the stop that they needed on defense. After scoring touchdowns on four straight possessions to work their way back into the game, James Cook scored an 11-yard touchdown with just under seven minutes left to put the Bills ahead for a second time in the game.
New England had two more chances to answer, but each time came up short on offense. The first drive ended with a three-and-out, the second with an incomplete pass on fourth down.
