The New England Patriots went into Buffalo Sunday night and handed the Bills their first loss of the season with a last-second 23-20 victory.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing.
Winners
QB Drake Maye: Sunday night felt like a coming out party for quarterback Drake Maye on a primetime stage. Maye out-dueled reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen behind a ridiculous second-half in which he went 14-of-15 for 188 yards. He then capped off his strong night by leading his first career game-winning drive behind a ridiculous completion to Stefon Diggs with a defender all over him and then a hole shot to Kayshon Boutte to work into field goal range.
The Patriots seemed to announce to the rest of the league they’ve arrived, and the 23-year old quarterback is the biggest reason why.
WR Stefon Diggs: His first return to Buffalo was “100 percent” personal for Stefon Diggs, and his play showed it. New England’s WR1 was Maye’s top target Sunday night hauling 10 of 12 targets for 146 yards — 61 of them coming after the catch — and converting several key third downs. The duo’s connection continues to grow as they worked off-script on multiple occasions with the best being a 32-yard gain in the third quarter to help set up a touchdown.
The yardage marked Diggs’ second-straight 100-yard game — this first time he’s done that since his final year in Buffalo and the first Patriot to hit the century marks in two straight games since Julian Edelman.
CB Marcus Jones and the defense: The Patriots leaned on their top cornerback duo of Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis Sunday night playing man coverage over 40 percent of the time against Josh Allen. While the MVP made his fair share of expected plays, New England’s secondary delivered some punches of their own with a third-down pass breakup and big interception by Marcus Jones and another pass breakup by Gonzalez to force a late field goal.
The Patriots also had success stopping James Cook and Buffalo’s top run game holding them to just 3.3 yards per carry on a 36 percent success rate.
K Andy Borregales and Co.: Nails. With Maye leading them into field goal range, Andy Borregales absolutely bombed a game-winning kick right down the middle from 52 yards out with 20 seconds remaining. Borregales has been improving each week after a shaky start down in Miami.
In addition to the kicker, credit to fellow rookie snapper Julian Ashby and punter Bryce Baringer on a clean operation. Baringer also had a strong game with three i20’s while his lone touchback flipped the field late on a 73-yard punt.
Losers
Backfield: While Rhamondre Stevenson bounced back with a pair of touchdowns, the back lost his third fumble of the season Sunday night on a reception. The Patriots then lost Antonio Gibson with what appears to be a significant knee injury, which would leave the team with just two healthy backs on the active roster (Terrell Jennings remains on the practice squad). A roster move at that position feels necessary this week.
Covering Kincaid: Buffalo’s best source of offense came through tight end Dalton Kincaid, who posted a career-high 108 receiving yards across six receptions. With the high rate of man coverage, Kincaid found success against safeties Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson. New England had issues covering tight ends throughout the summer, making this performance notable.
Other performances of note
- New England’s offense line seemed to hold up relatively well in live action. Maye, who said left some clean pockets throughout the game, appeared to cause some pressure early while Buffalo dialed up the pressure in the second half. A false start on Vederian Lowe (which alsolikley could have been called on Jared Wilson) was the lone mistake negating a third-down conversion.
- Kayshon Boutte: three catches, three first-downs. The receiver did have a pair of penalties, however.
- Undisciplined penalties on Joshua Farmer, Cory Durden, and Brenden Schooler on defense.
