ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — It was difficult enough for Josh Allen to watch helplessly on the sideline as New England quarterback Drake Maye marched the Patriots 37 yards to set up Andy Borregales’ decisive 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds left.
What was worse for the Bills’ quarterback is knowing how much of a hand he and his teammates played in the 23-20 loss on Sunday night.
As if three turnovers, two by Allen, were not enough: The offense came up short on a final drive that stalled at New England’s 27, leaving Buffalo settling for Matt Prater hitting a game-tying 45-yard field goal with 2:17 left.
“We just played sloppy,” Allen said. “Not gonna win a football game, turning the ball over three times … That’s just bad football and we just did not play good tonight.”
In dropping to 4-1, Buffalo joined the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost to Denver, in being the NFL’s final two unbeaten teams to lose on Sunday. The outcome also ended Buffalo’s regular-season home winning streak at 14, one short of matching the team record.
And suddenly the five-time defending AFC East champions find themselves in a divisional race that has the upstart Patriots (3-2) on their heels.
“Respect to them. They came in, they knew what they had to do. They took care of the football. We didn’t,” Allen said.
The first sign of trouble came on Buffalo’s opening drive, which ended with Allen losing a fumble on a botched handoff to Dawson Knox at midfield. Two series later, wide receiver Keon Coleman lost a fumble, which the Patriots recovered at Buffalo’s 11.
Credit the Bills’ defense for limiting the Patriots to a field goal off the first two turnovers.
The turning point, however, came with Allen’s interception in the third quarter. Trailing 13-10 and facing second-and-13 at New England’s 19, Allen forced a throw over the middle intended for Khalil Shakir, only to have defensive back Marcus Jones jump in front and pick it off.
Maye responded with an 11-play, 90-yard drive capped by Rhamondre Stevenson’s second touchdown run in building a 20-10 lead.
“I really don’t think that was a force. It was just a bad ball,” Allen said of the interception. “I saw Khalil and I just left it a little inside and the kid made a good play.”
Adding salt to the wound was having former Bills star receiver Stefon Diggs finish with 10 catches for 146 yards in his first trip back to Buffalo since being traded to Houston in April 2024. It was the type of outing the Bills were accustomed to seeing Diggs perform in a Buffalo uniform during his four-year stint with the team.
The sloppiness was uncharacteristic of a Bills team that had turned the ball over once this season — Allen throwing an interception in a 31-19 win over New Orleans last week. Before being picked off last week, Allen had committed just one turnover in his previous 12 starts, including playoffs.
The opening-drive turnover came after Buffalo scored touchdowns on the first possession in each of its first four outings this season — and 12 total, dating to the start of 2024.
The offense struggled overall with New England bottling up Buffalo’s running attack. James Cook was limited to 49 yards rushing and no catches, the first time he’s failed to crack 100 yards from scrimmage this season. Cook also had his franchise-record streak of scoring a touchdown rushing end at eight games.
Penalties didn’t help, with Buffalo flagged 11 times for 90 yards.
“Woulda, shoulda, coulda, right?” coach Sean McDermott said. “It wasn’t anything they did. But, again, all learning opportunities for us as a team, and that’s what we need to do.”
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