Bills vs. Patriots with 1st place in the AFC east on the line, it doesn't get much better than that for a second-half of the season Monday night game.
With wind gusts anywhere from 20-40 mph both teams came out run heavy as expected, the Patriots started with two consecutive punts, the second one was just 15 yards which set the Bills up with great field position.
On the next drive, Matt Breida, who has looked promising over the past few weeks fumbled the handoff and the Patriots recovered.
On the ensuing drive Damien Harris silenced the crowd at Highmark stadium with a 64 yard touchdown run. The Patriots with a elected to go for two and converted giving New England an 8-0 lead.
Later in the 1st the Bills caught a huge break on a punt. The ball grazed the helmet of a New England player and was recovered by the Bills on the 14 yard line. The Bills capitalized with a 14 yard touchdown reception by Gabriel Davis. 8-7 Patriots lead.
To start the second quarter the Patriots drove down the field passing 100 yards on the ground already and ending their drive with a 41 yard Nick Folk field goal to make it 11-7 Patriots.
That score held through the first half break. The biggest different through two quarters was the ground game. The Pats had 149 yards rushing compared to the Bills with just 33.
Overall the Bills first half was brutal on both sides of the ball. The only score came off of a turnover, the team clearly needs to be better in the second half.
Third quarter, the Bills came out with their biggest offense play of the night when Allen connected with Emmanuel Sanders for 19 yards. Moments later, the Patriots were called on a 15 yard personal foul hitting Josh Allen as he was running out of bounds which set the Bills up to kick a 35 yard field goal to make it 11-10.
The Patriots would continue their dominance on the ground late in the third. With 2:32 to go in the third quarter the Pats had 210 rushing yards and were once again knocking on the door.
After the third quarter the Pats had 233 yards on the ground compared to just 50 for Buffalo. The clear difference in the game as Mac Jones only attempted one pass through three quarters.
The Bills showed life stopping the Pats on three consecutive red zone runs to start the 4th quarter which lead to a Pats 34 yard field goal. 14-10 New England lead with 13:01 to go.
Next Bills possession, Josh Allen finally decides to keep it himself and create some momentum. Allen picked up a big time first down with his legs and followed it up with another first down pass which put Buffalo in the red zone. The Bills followed it up with poor execution while looking for a touchdown. Head coach Sean McDermott decided to settle for the field goal, Tyler Bass missed a 33 yard kick with 7:24 left on the clock.
Next drive, the Bills force a quick 3 and out go back on offense with less than 6 minutes to go in the game.
First play of the Bills crucial next drive, Allen finds Stefon Diggs for 26 yards. A few plays later the Bills finally found some success running the ball with one of their backs, Devin Singletary took it for 17 yards approaching the red zone with 3:22 left. After a hard fought 5 yard run by Josh Allen, the Bills were back in business within striking distance of a touchdown. After three incomplete passes and a false start on Dawson Knox, Buffalo faced 4th and 14 from the 19 yard line. Allen tossed up a prayer that was batted down by the Patriots defense on 4th down resulting in a turnover on downs.
The Patriots went ahead and ran down the clock defeating the Bills 14-10. The Bills drop to 7-5 on the season while the Patriots improve to 9-4, winning 7 straight games.
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