Though the Patriots’ 10-game winning streak has come to a crashing halt, fans say they are still riding the momentum that the team has built this season, holding onto hope for more good times in January.
Buffalo stunned New England on Sunday, coming back from being down multiple scores at halftime to walk away from Gillette Stadium with a 35-31 victory. The Patriots remain in the drivers’ seat in the AFC East, but they now lead the division by just one game.
Patriots fans called Sunday’s outcome “super” disappointing, but they say they are confident that the hometown club will bounce back in Baltimore next week in a Week 16 Sunday Night Football matchup against the Ravens.
Terry Sullivan, a season-ticket holder of 30 years, connected his confidence to how the Lions boast the NFL’s longest active streak of winning following a loss. Detroit tied a league record of bounce-back wins in Week 14, having won 15 straight such games.
“The electricity is back,” Sullivan told the Herald as he engaged in postgame festivities on a wet, soggy field alongside other season-ticket holders. “It is so different. Last season, the season before, it was very, very disappointing, but the electricity is back.”
Electricity could be seen and heard loud and often throughout the first half in a snowy, cold Foxboro as the Patriots took a 24-7 lead into the halftime break.
Evidence? Second-year quarterback phenom Drake Maye generated boisterous MVP chants multiple times, including after each of his rushing touchdowns. The first put the Patriots ahead, 7-0, capping a game-opening scoring drive. The second came at the end of the first quarter, with New England taking a 14-0 advantage.
Each time that Buffalo seemed to build any semblance of momentum offensively, the Patriots’ defense crushed it, highlighted by drive-ending sacks from linebackers Jack Gibbens and Harold Landry.
Gillette Stadium exploded when rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson took a 52-yard rush to the house, as the Patriots extended their lead to 21-0 at the 5:53 mark in the second quarter.
Following Henderson’s score, the Gillette videoboard displayed rapper Travis Scott sitting next to team owner Robert Kraft. That generated loud cheers, firing up Stefon Diggs as the Patriots’ wide receiver danced on the sideline.
The atmosphere in the stands and on the field, though, changed dramatically in the second half, as fans grew quiet and anxious, with the Bills scoring 21 unanswered points to come back and take a 28-24 lead.
After the Patriots gained some momentum following another long rushing score from Henderson early in the fourth quarter, Buffalo answered immediately, squashing any hope of New England clinching the AFC East on Sunday.
“They’re still someone to look out for,” Patriots fan Justin Mahoney told the Herald. “It’s Week 15, and this is their third loss. Any team would say that’s an incredible, incredible season so far.”
Charlie Nowell, of Boston, said Sunday’s pregame festivities on Route 1 reminded him of how he felt during high school just under a decade ago when he’d watch the legends of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick guide the Patriots to three Super Bowls.
“We’re playing for something,” he said.
