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FOXBOROUGH – Tre’Veyon Henderson had just ripped off a 52-yard touchdown run halfway through the second quarter to make it 21-0 Patriots.
Gillette Stadium was in bedlam. Smiles all over the Patriot sideline. Confidence oozing from the men in blue. The Patriots were well on their way to hats and t-shirts after the game.
There is an old saying which goes “The worm turns.” It turned on the ensuing kickoff.
Andres Borregales kicked off to Ray Davis at the Buffalo 5-yard line. Davis took off up the right sideline and ran it back 38 yards to the Buffalo 43. Brenden Schooler was then called for a facemask as he was trying to tackle Davis. Fifteen yards were tacked on, so the Bills began their drive at the Patriot 42.
That, friends, was when the worm turned.
Suddenly, the Patriots could no longer tackle James Cook and Josh Allen. It took Buffalo seven plays, five of them involving Cook. Cook went the final five yards when Allen hit him in the left flat with a perfect dump toss, no one near him.
This was the first of five straight touchdown drives for the Buffalo Bills. On a day where the Patriots could have clinched the AFC East title, the Bills could not be stopped and the Patriots managed only one touchdown after leading at the half 24-7. The Bills walked out of Gillette Stadium on Sunday with a 35-31 win, keeping their division title hopes alive. Drake Maye ran out of magic, and the Patriots wasted a career game from Henderson as the Patriots simply could not answer when the Bills suddenly began to look like and play like the Bills.
If you can glean any positives from this game, there are two things which might make you feel better. We did say “might”.
The last time the Patriots were a playoff team was 2021. Mac Jones was a rookie and looked like the long term answer at quarterback for the Patriots. What is not often mentioned about that season is that the Patriots went 1-2 against the Bills that year, a windblown maelstrom win at Buffalo followed by two losses in which Allen could not be stopped. The third meeting was a Wild Card playoff game where the Bills scored touchdowns on seven straight drives. They scored five in a row on Sunday, so maybe that bodes well for the Patriots in their endeavours to make the playoffs.
The other “good sign” is that perhaps this will help the Patriots down the road. If the Patriots made the playoffs, and perhaps somehow got the one seed, they may have bought into the mindset that, thanks to the easy schedule, they are not as good as they thought they were. With this loss, the Patriots will now be more ready for tough opponents when the playoffs begin.
The one seed may be gone unless Denver falters down the stretch. Right now, the Patriots will be focused on winning the division. Winning out will nail that down. They have road games at Baltimore and the Jets, and a home game against Miami. All three are winnable games, as Baltimore has suffered through a horrid season and the Patriots will be more up to facing Lamar Jackson next week coming off a tough loss this week.
Meanwhile, Henderson had a game for the ages. He rushed for 148 yards on 14 carries. He scored two touchdowns, one of them was that 52-yard scamper in the second quarter. He scored on a 65-yard run which was spectacular. After getting a touchback on a kickoff, Henderson took the ball on the first play and went to his right. Finding nothing open, he reversed his field and took off around left end. He found a lane and he was off. He whizzed down the left sideline with a lead blocker. One play, 65 yards, touchdown, and the Patriots regained the lead at the time at 31-28.
Oh, by the way, who was the lead blocker?
His lead blocker finished 14 of 23 passing for 155 yards, one interception and a rating of only 62.8. Part of the problem here was that Maye didn’t really need to throw in the first half because the rushing attack had been gashing the Bills defense. As a team, the Patriots finished with 248 yards rushing and a 9.8 yards per carry average.
If you want to be a wet blanket, you can say that if you take away the two long touchdown runs, Henderson rushed for 31 yards on 12 carries and an average under three yards per carry. Rhamondre Stevenson had 50 yards on six carries and was much better at the tough yards. Overall, this was a day where rushing carried the day, but Maye will learn from games like this and, come playoff time, will probably benefit from this game later on.
But it doesn’t feel good right now. Allen shook off the early game doldrums and then became what he has been these last several years. Allen finished with 193 yards on 19 of 28 passing, three touchdowns and a rating of 123.1. Cook had 107 yards rushing and two touchdowns, while Allen had 48 rushing yards on 11 carries. Khalil Shakir led Buffalo with 65 receiving yards on five catches.
Lest we forget: Maye rushed for 43 yards on four carries and two touchdowns. As we said, rushing carried the day.
The Patriots will play next Sunday night at Baltimore. You will get to see right away if this loss sent a message to the Patriots to remember that December football is tough, and January football is even tougher. The Patriots can still win the division, but have to keep their eyes focused on the prize. It is possible that the quick start by the Patriots gave them a sense of security they really didn’t benefit from.
Things are still good. You’re still in first place. Root for the Packers and let’s get our good feelings back.
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