The Buffalo Bills will not be going undefeated in 2026.
The Bills (3-1) lost their first game of the season and came up on the short side of an outing for the first time at the new Highmark Stadium in Week 4, as the New England Patriots took a 29-26 win on Sunday.
Here are Bills Wire's five takeaways from the defeat:
Allen mistakes
Quarterback Josh Allen cost his team late. There is no way around that.
Allen was 22-for-33 for 253 yards with a touchdown and a very costly interception in the outing.
On a second down play late, Allen pushed himself away from taking a sack only to throw up a duck. It was intercepted and Buffalo never got the ball back. It was not fourth down. Allen had no reason to throw that up and he lost the game right there.
Plus, he never got it
going on the ground.
Maxwell Hairston storms out after bad game
The Bills defense never got into a rhyme in this one. It was a heck of a catch needed for the game-winning score for the Patriots, but their offense has been poor all season and still managed to put up 29 points.
Former first-round pick Maxwell Hairston had a brutal game and gave up a lot of bit plays and was scored against.
So much so, Hairston stormed out of the locker room following the loss. Not a good look.
Max Hairston just stormed out of the locker room and declined an interview postgame.
— Matt Parrino (@MattParrino) October 4, 2026
Injuries adding up
The Bills had a slew of players leave the game because of injury as well. Insult added to actual injury against the Patriots.
First off the field was DJ Moore, who appeared to aggravate his shoulder injury. Not aiding the poor game for the defense were injuries to defensive lineman Ed Oliver (knee) and cornerback Dee Alford (ankle).
Wasted performance from Keon
A positive note in a game with few to be found was Keon Cole. The wide receiver carried the offense as he had six catches for 116 yards and a long touchdown.
Coleman's diving catch after a deflection was really impressive.
Too bad the effort was wasted in a loss.
Patriots still in it
The Bills could've put a stranglehold on the AFC East. After winning the division five years in a row, the Patriots took it in 2025.
While it's still very early, Buffalo could've started to run away with the AFC with a win. Instead, the Bills laid a stinker and the Pats are very much still alive in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 5 takeaways from the Bills' 29-26 loss to the Patriots
