FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Joey Bosa’s right hand shot up at the perfect moment, swatting down Drake Maye’s fourth-down pass with 2:43 remaining. The ball fell harmlessly to the turf, and with it, New England’s hopes of clinching the AFC East.
Buffalo had done it again. Down 21-0 in the second quarter and facing a Patriots team riding a 10-game winning streak, the Bills clawed back for a 35-31 victory on December 14 that kept their division title hopes alive and exposed cracks in what had looked like an unstoppable New England squad.
The Buffalo Bills vs New England Patriots match player stats tell the story of two halves. The Patriots dominated early behind Maye’s rushing touchdowns and TreVeyon Henderson’s explosive runs. Buffalo controlled the final 30 minutes, with Josh Allen throwing three touchdown passes and James Cook grinding out 99 yards on the ground.
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Allen Finds Knox When It Mattered
Allen’s numbers don’t jump off the page. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 193 yards. But the quarterback delivered when the deficit looked insurmountable, connecting with Dawson Knox twice for touchdowns in a span of 7:45 that flipped the game.
Knox’s four-yard scoring catch early in the third quarter cut the lead to 24-14. His 14-yarder in the fourth put Buffalo ahead 28-24 with 13:14 left, capping an 11-play drive that Allen kept alive with a 37-yard strike to Khalil Shakir on fourth-and-three.
Josh Allen | Comp/Att | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Passing | 20/29 | 193 | 3 | 0 | 121.8 |
Rushing | 8 carries | 51 yards | 0 | — |
“No matter what the score is, if it’s in the third quarter, in the fourth quarter, whatever it is, if we’ve got a chance and we’ve got the ball, we feel like we like our chances,” Allen said.
Knox’s second touchdown was his 26th career scoring reception, breaking Pete Metzelaars’ franchise record for a Bills tight end. He finished with three catches for 37 yards.
“Dawson Knox, what a week, holy smokes,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. “Having a new baby, he and his wife, congratulations to them, and then two touchdowns today.”
Cook Grinds Through Snow
While Allen threw the touchdowns, Cook provided the balance Buffalo needed. His 20 carries for 99 yards and two rushing scores came on a day when light snow fell and the temperature hovered at 32 degrees. He also caught a five-yard touchdown pass, giving him three total scores.
The performance pushed Cook past 4,000 career rushing yards, the sixth Bills running back to reach that mark. More importantly, his 11-yard scoring run with 6:48 remaining restored Buffalo’s lead at 35-31 after Henderson had answered Knox’s go-ahead touchdown with a 65-yard burst just 14 seconds earlier.
Buffalo Ground Game
Player | Carries | Yards | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
James Cook | 20 | 99 | 5.0 | 2 |
Josh Allen | 8 | 51 | 6.4 | 0 |
Khalil Shakir caught all five of his targets for 65 yards, while Dalton Kincaid added three receptions for 34 yards. Ray Davis sparked the second half with a 58-yard kickoff return, the longest of his four returns that totaled 164 yards.
Maye and Henderson Staked Early Lead
The Patriots looked dominant through the first 23 minutes. Maye scrambled for touchdowns of eight and seven yards in the first quarter, using his legs to build a 14-0 advantage. He finished 14 of 22 for 155 yards with one interception, adding 43 rushing yards and two scores on four carries.
Drake Maye | Comp/Att | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Passing | 14/22 | 155 | 0 | 1 | 65.5 |
Rushing | 4 carries | 43 yards | 2 TD | — |
Henderson put together a performance that rewrote the Patriots record book. His 14 carries for 148 yards produced a 10.6-yard average, a franchise single-game record. He scored on runs of 52 and 65 yards, giving him four rushing touchdowns of 50-plus yards this season. Only Chris Johnson in 2009 and Jim Brown in 1963 had more in a single season with five.
New England’s 246 rushing yards on 25 carries averaged 9.8 yards per attempt, another franchise record. Rhamondre Stevenson added 50 yards on six carries.
Patriots Rushing Attack
Player | Carries | Yards | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
TreVeyon Henderson | 14 | 148 | 10.6 | 2 |
Rhamondre Stevenson | 6 | 50 | 8.3 | 0 |
Drake Maye | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 2 |
Mack Hollins led New England receivers with four catches for 41 yards on eight targets. Kayshon Boutte’s 30-yard reception in the first quarter set up Maye’s opening touchdown run.
Defense Shifted Momentum
Matt Milano’s 10 tackles and two sacks anchored a Bills defense that made critical stops after halftime. Tre’Davious White intercepted Maye in the third quarter at Buffalo’s nine-yard line with New England leading 24-14, killing a drive that could have extended the Patriots’ advantage.
Buffalo Defensive Leaders
Player | Tackles | Sacks | TFL | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Matt Milano | 10 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
Maxwell Hairston | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Taron Johnson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cole Bishop | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
But it was Bosa’s pass deflection on fourth-and-five from the Patriots’ 22-yard line that sealed the victory. Buffalo held possession for 35:21 compared to New England’s 24:39, controlling the ball when it mattered most.
Marcus Jones and Jaylinn Hawkins each recorded 10 tackles for the Patriots. Jack Gibbens added eight tackles and a sack, while Harold Landry contributed a sack as well.
“We just have to be better when we’re up,” Maye said. “I didn’t feel like we relaxed, just didn’t make enough plays.”
What the Numbers Mean
The victory moved Buffalo to 10-4 and within one game of the Patriots in the AFC East. The Bills reached double-digit wins for the seventh consecutive season, tied for the longest active streak in the NFL. They improved to 3-0 this season when trailing by double digits in the second half.
New England fell to 11-3, seeing its winning streak end at 10 games. The Patriots’ 120-game home winning streak when holding a 17-point lead also ended. According to Sports Illustrated, they had not lost at home after building such an advantage since 1978 against Houston.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel kept his postgame comments brief.
“That’s how this game goes,” he said. “A few small plays make the difference.”
The Bills vs Patriots player statistics showed Buffalo converting five of six red zone chances into touchdowns while controlling time of possession. Allen added 51 rushing yards to his passing totals, and the defense forced New England into mistakes when the game hung in the balance.
For the Patriots, Henderson’s record-breaking day and Maye’s dual-threat performance proved insufficient. New England would go on to win its final three games and finish 14-3, clinching the AFC East and the two seed. Buffalo split its remaining games to finish 12-5.
But on this December afternoon at Gillette Stadium, with snow falling and the division race tightening, the Bills proved they could overcome any deficit when Allen had the ball and a chance.
