Patriots Hand Bills First Loss

The New England Patriots beat the previously unbeaten Buffalo Bills 29⁠–⁠26 on Sunday, 4 October, in Orchard Park, New York, in Week 4 of the National Football League season. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes. The last was a 23-yard one-handed catch by Efton Chism III with under two minutes left. A two-point conversion — a bonus play worth two points instead of the usual one-point kick — then put New England ahead by three (ESPN box score; AP; Patriots.com).

A touchdown is worth six points before the extra play. Maye finished 22 of 37 for 269 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He had thrown six interceptions in New England’s first three games. On Sunday he also rushed eight times for 54 yards. Romeo Doubs caught touchdown passes of 14 and 2 yards. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson scored on a 1-yard run (ESPN box score; AP).

The scoring summary tells the swing. Doubs’s 14-yard catch from Maye opened it 7⁠–⁠0 late in the first quarter. James Cook’s 8-yard run tied it early in the second. Stevenson’s 1-yard rush made it 14⁠–⁠7. Josh Allen’s 2-yard run tied it again at 14⁠–⁠14 with a minute left in the half, and Tyler Bass kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired for a 17⁠–⁠14 Buffalo lead at the break. Doubs’s 2-yard catch in the third put New England back up 21⁠–⁠17. Bass’s 38-yard field goal cut it to 21⁠–⁠20. Allen then hit Keon Coleman for 34 yards; the two-point try failed, and Buffalo led 26⁠–⁠21 with 4:27 left (ESPN scoring summary).

Maye answered with an eight-play, 73-yard drive. On third-and-5 he rolled right and lobbed the ball to Chism, who caught it with one hand and kept control as he fell. Maye then threw to Stevenson for the two points. The score was 29⁠–⁠26 with 1:50 left on the ESPN clock (ESPN scoring summary; AP).

Bills quarterback Josh Allen finished 23 of 33 for 253 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. He also scored on the 2-yard run. Cook ran 12 times for 75 yards and a score. Coleman caught six passes for 116 yards and the late touchdown. Buffalo’s final drive ended when Craig Woodson intercepted Allen with about a minute left, picking off a deep ball intended for Josh Palmer near the New England 19. It was Woodson’s first regular-season interception (ESPN box score; AP; Patriots.com).

The result matters beyond one Sunday. The Patriots became the first visiting team to win at Buffalo’s new Highmark Stadium, which opened this season. Buffalo had won its first two games there. Both clubs are in the same four-team AFC East division. The Bills fall to 3⁠–⁠1, their first loss of the year. The Patriots rise to 2⁠–⁠2 and close the gap on their division rival (Patriots.com; AP via ESPN).

“It’s relieving a little bit,” Maye said after the criticism that followed those six early interceptions. “I know I’ve got to play better and still left some stuff out there today. But we’ve got to build on it.” Coach Mike Vrabel said the win “gets us back in the race” and that Maye “went toe to toe” with Allen (AP).

Allen took the blame for the final throw. “Should have thrown that one out of bounds and live another day,” he said. “It stinks. I feel like we hurt ourselves.” Buffalo also lost a fumble by receiver Khalil Shakir. Allen’s interception was his third of the season (AP).

Chism was getting extra snaps after Mack Hollins left with a calf injury. “Drake gave me an opportunity and you have to come down with those opportunities,” Chism said. It was his second career touchdown (AP; Patriots.com).

What changed on Sunday in Orchard Park is simple enough for a plain reader. An unbeaten Buffalo team lost at its new stadium for the first time. Maye, after a rough start to the year, threw three touchdowns. Chism’s late catch and Stevenson’s two-point play put New England ahead. Woodson’s interception ended the last Buffalo drive. Week 4 left the Bills at 3⁠–⁠1 and the Patriots at 2⁠–⁠2.