Drake Maye, Stefon Diggs lead Patriots to upset win over Bills in Week 5
Drake Maye, Stefon Diggs, and the Patriots showed the rest of the NFL they are on the rise Sunday night, as New England upset the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium, 23-20, on national television.
Maye threw for 273 yards as he connected on 22 of his 30 passes, and looked a lot like Josh Allen as he escaped heavy pressure in the fourth quarter to set up New England's go-ahead field goal. Diggs was Maye's favorite receiver, as he came down with 10 receptions for 146 yards in his first game back in Buffalo since he was traded by the Bills in 2024.
Rhamondre Stevenson made up for a first-quarter fumble and scored two second-half touchdowns for the Patriots, who have now won back-to-back games for the first time since the 2022 season.
Allen threw for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but the New England defense kept him from really going off for most of the evening. Allen was picked off late in the third quarter, which set up a Patriots touchdown. Buffalo fought back to tie the game late, before Maye's heroics led the Patriots to a massive win.
After and ugly first half that was filled with penalties, turnovers, and not a lot of scoring, things opened up in a big way in the second half. The final 30 minutes was a back-and-forth affair, which ended with Patriots rookie kicker Andy Borregales hitting a 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to lift New England to the victory.
New England improves to 3-2 on the season, while Buffalo is now 4-1. Here's how it all played out in Orchard Park on Sunday:
Bills, Patriots trade fumbles
After the Patriots punted away their first possession, the Bills crossed midfield their first time with the ball thanks to a 20-yard connection between Allen and Dalton Kincaid on a third-and-4. But then Kincaid was the man in motion on the next play and knocked Allen's handoff to James Cook out of the QB's hands and onto the turf. Joshua Farmer picked it up for New England at the Buffalo 47.
New England got just one play out of the possession though, because Stevenson put the ball on the ground for the 10th time in his last 10 games. The running back picked up seven yards on a pass from Maye, but then let Shaq Thompson punch the ball out and Buffalo recovered at its ow-n 38.
The New England defense forced a punt when Marcus Jones broke up a downfield pass by Allen to Keon Coleman on third down. But Vrabel sent Antonio Gibson out as the team's lead back on New England's next possession in place of Stevenson, while Stevenson only showed up in a pass-protection situation on third down. (Gibson was later lost for the game due to a knee injury he suffered on a kickoff return, which ended any punishment for Stevenson.)
Patriots-Bills trade field goals
After the Patriots punted, the New England defense came up with another fumble recovery when Robert Spillane poked the ball free from Keon Coleman, which Jaylin Hawkins recovered at the Buffalo 10. It was a huge opportunity for New England to find the end zone.
But the Patriots did not find the end zone. Gibson lost a yard on a first-down carry, and then Maye threw the ball away with pressure in his face on second down. The QB then threw a little behind Diggs on a third-down slant, and the Patriots had to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Andy Borregales to take a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The Patriots let Allen and company go 54 yards downfield on Buffalo's next possession, but the New England defense stuffed Shakir for a loss on third down when Allen flicked it to the wide receiver on a read-option play. Buffalo settled for a field goal to the tie the game, 3-3.
Patriots add another field goal before halftime on stop by D
New England's swarming defense got the offense the ball back late in the second quarter thanks to a sack by Milton Williams and Jaylin Hawkins on Allen at the Buffalo 35.
That stop gave the Patriots an opportunity to take the lead before halftime. Rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson ran for 13 yards on first down -- his first carry of the game -- ahead of the 2-minute warning, and Maye hit Hunter Henry for a massive 22-yard pickup downfield on second-and-15.
A Buffalo DPI gave the Patriots a fresh set of down at the goal line, but Maye couldn't complete a first-and-goal pass to Henry, as the pass bounced off the tight end's hand. Borregales connected on a 19-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 6-3 lead at the break.
Bills strike for game's first touchdown out of halftime
Allen and the Bills made it look easy on a 10-play, 71-yard touchdown drive out of halftime. Buffalo didn't see third down on the drive, and Allen hit Kincaid for a 20-yard connection on the biggest play of the drive.
Allen hit Curtis Samuel from six yards out when Samuel (the man in motion) faked out Hawkins before the snap, giving Buffalo a 10-6 edge.
Big Maye-Diggs connection sets up Patriots' first touchdown
The New England offense didn't mess around when it got the ball back. Diggs made a beautiful sliding catch on a low throw by Maye on the first play of the drive, and then ran an incredible route that ended with the receiver hauling in a 32-yard pass from Maye down to the Buffalo 4-yard line.
Stevenson ran it in the very next play to give the Patriots a 13-10 lead midway through the third quarter.
Marcus Jones takes away a Buffalo scoring threat
Marcus Jones is more than just a punt returner. After the Bills drove into the red zone on their next possession, Jones undercut Khalil Shakir on a route over the middle and picked off Allen to keep Buffalo off the scoreboard.
More Diggs leads to another Patriots touchdown
The Jones INT turned into a touchdown thanks in large part to Diggs. He had a toe-dragging grab along the sideline for 10 yards on a must-have third-and-7, and then took a short feed from Maye and turned it into a 30-yard gain down to the Buffalo 6.
Stevenson ran it in from seven yards out a few plays later to give the Patriots a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Patriots penalties let Bills score quick touchdown
The Patriots' defense did itself no favors on Buffalo's next possession. After Allen hit Dalton Kincaid for 23 yards on first down, New England defensive tackle Corey Durden and Farmer were assessed 15-yard penalties on back-to-back plays (for a late hit on Allen and an even later hit on James Cooks, respectively) that set the Bills up at the New England 25.
The drive ended with Allen finding Keon Coleman in the end zone for a two-yard touchdown over Carlton Davis, which made it a 20-17 game with 7:37 to play.
Bills tie it with Prater field goal
The Patriots went three-and-out after that Buffalo touchdown, as Vederian Lowe was hit with a false start on a third-and-1 and Maye was chased out of bounds on the ensuing third-and-4.
It looked like the New England defense picked Allen off again when the Bills got the ball back, but Jack Gibbens was called for a DPI on the play -- the Patriots' eighth penalty at the time. The Bills were facing a third-and-6 a few plays later, but Allen threw it up to Coleman, who brought in a 13-yard reception over Carlton Davis for a fresh set of downs.
Buffalo faced a third-and-10 at the New England 27 with 2:30 left, but Christian Gonzalez broke up Allen's pass to Shakir in the middle of the field to force a field-goal try. Matt Prater connected from 45 yards out to tie the game, 20-20, with 2:17 remaining.
Maye escapes pressure, Borregales hits game-winning field goal
With the game on the line, Maye showed the football world that he has arrived.
The Patriots QB channeled his inner Allen on first down, as he escaped some heavy pressure from the Buffalo defense and found a way to get it to Diggs for a 12-yard pickup just before the two-minute warning. It was the big play bigtime players make with the game on the line on national television.
It's so nice, we'll make sure you see it at least twice:
Two plays later, Maye hit Boutte on the right sideline for a 19-yard pickup down to the Buffalo 39. The Patriots weren't able to get another first down as they ran the ball and forced the Bills to use their three timeouts, but Borregales nailed on a 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to give the Patriots their 23-20 lead.
A few minutes later, the Patriots walked off the field at Highmark Stadium with a massive upset victory.
What's next for the New England Patriots?
New England will play its second of three straight road games next Sunday against the Saints in New Orleans. The Saints are 1-4 on the season after they picked up their first win of the season in Week 4 with a 26-14 victory over the New York Giants
New Orleans scored 23 unanswered points against New York after falling behind 14-3 early in the second quarter on Sunday. Spencer Rattler threw for 225 yards and a touchdown -- an 87-yard score to Rashid Shaheed -- while the Saints defense also returned a fumble 86 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.