For a brief moment in time, the title of this column was going to be “Ups & Downs as Patriots shock the world in Buffalo, beat Bills XX-XX.”
With New England leading Buffalo 14-7 at the half, controlling the pace and showing no quit in their game, it looked like the Patriots were on their way to the biggest upset in the league this season.
But then, the second half happened.
Buffalo outscored New England 17-7 over the final 30 minutes of football, beating the Patriots 24-21.
Here are your “Ups & Downs” for Week 16. Let’s start positive:
Ups:
- Drake Maye: From the opening drive of the game, it was clear that the coldest weather of Drake Maye’s football career wasn’t going to slow down the week-by-week progress we’ve seen from the rookie.
Under immense pressure from Buffalo the entire drive, Maye was unbothered.
On 3rd and 8 from the New England 44, Maye avoided a three-and-out to open the game by hanging tough in the pocket, finding tight end Hunter Henry for a first down with a man right in his face. Henry got right to the sticks, and kept the drive moving.
One play later from the Buffalo 48, Maye made a heads up play, throwing a ball downfield to running back Rhamondre Stevenson who was being interfered with. The interference was such that Stevenson was never going to catch the ball, but that wasn’t the point. The flag was thrown, and it was a fresh set of downs from the Buffalo 34.
Three plays later from the Buffalo 28, it was 3rd and 4 for Maye. Instead of making the safe read to possibly keep their opening drive alive, Maye dropped back and tossed a dime up the right sideline to receiver Kayshon Boutte. The second-year receiver was essentially double covered - it was almost as if he had a quarter-step on one Bills defender, with a safety drifting over with help over the top. Had Maye not thrown a perfect ball, they would have been trotting Joey Slye out for an opening drive field goal attempt.
Instead, it was six for New England, throwing an incredible first punch at the bully to open Week 16.
On the second drive of the game, it was more Maye magic on display.
Some quality runs from Stevenson and a couple nice throws to tight ends brought the ball to the Buffalo 46. But after right tackle Demontrey Jacobs was called for a false start, it was 1st and 15 from the New England 49. Maye found receiver DeMario Douglas for 6 before having a ball fall incomplete to Boutte on second down. On 3rd and 9 with the pocket breaking down, Maye put his head down and scrambled up the middle for 10.
Three plays later, it was another 3rd and long from the Buffalo 33, and Maye stayed calm, finding Henry for 12 yards to keep the drive alive.
A few plays and a couple Buffalo penalties later, Stevenson was running the ball in for 6 from 14 yards out to give the Patriots a 14-0 lead at the top of the second quarter. Without Maye’s play on that drive, that rushing touchdown for the starting running back is not possible.
16 plays, 91 yards, and 9:57 coming off the clock. Given the opponent and what New England was able to overcome on multiple third downs, I think this is the most impressive drive of the season for the Patriots.
Let’s fast-forward to just under four minutes to go in the third quarter, on a 2nd and 6 from the New England 47. Under a ridiculous amount of pressure, Maye was able to wing the ball off his back foot to Boutte in the middle of the field, who picked up 22 yards on the grab. Maye was able to turn what would have been a big sack into a clutch first down pickup.
This throw might get forgotten, as Maye threw a pick four plays later on a 1st and 10 from the Bills 16 yard line. Maye was looking to tight end Austin Hooper at the front-right pylon, but the veteran got his legs tangled with Buffalo corner Cam Lewis, who ultimately caught the pick for a touchback. I might be on an island here, but I don’t think this interception does enough to bump Maye out of this section, especially when you consider the tangled feet leading to Hooper falling down away from the ball. But I’m willing to hear the argument for it and admittedly need to watch the play a couple more times from a few different angles (this thing gets written in real-time and posted right as the game ends, so give me a second!).
There’s definitely going to be people who read this and wonder why I’m not putting the backwards-pass-turned-Bills-TD in the fourth quarter on Maye. I get it - at first glance, you want to put that on the rookie. But I ultimately feel too much of the blame for that blunder falls on two other players for Maye to get the demerit, and that will be explained later in the column.
Late in the fourth quarter down 24-14, Maye was putting the team on his back to try and bring the Patriots back in the game. Successful designed QB runs, big throws downfield to pass catchers, avoiding pressure - the kid was doing it all.
The last three plays of this drive showed the mental toughness of Maye that you want to see from a rookie QB at this point in the season:
- On 1st and goal from the Bills 1, Maye had a touchdown pass to Douglas called back upon further review
- On 2nd and goal from the Bills 1, Maye fumbled the snap while spinning the ball in his hands, falling on the ball for a loss of 8 yards
- On 3rd and goal from the Bills 9, Maye hung in the pocket and found Henry for a touchdown
Frustrating overturn. Frustrating mistake. Clutch touchdown.
That capped off a 13 play, 75-yard touchdown drive to keep New England alive.
It wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but it was yet another reminder that this kid is your best player, and is clearly the future of the franchise.
- Patriots Coaches: I never thought I’d see the day this season where Patriots coaches were getting their own write up within “Ups” - yet here we are!
And even with the Bills successfully completing their second half comeback, I’m giving these coaches their kudos for what we saw on Sunday.
Give head coach Jerod Mayo a ton of credit for getting his players to buy-in and play hard in a game they could have easily laid down for as 14.5-point underdogs at FanDuel. Not only was Mayo able to get buy-in, but got his guys to play an aggressive, nothing-to-lose style that saw New England controlling the pace of the game during the entire first half. The CBS telecast even made a point to mention how much veteran players in the Patriots’ locker room had Mayo’s back heading into this one. This is the first time I’ve felt this way watching New England since their Week 1 upset in Cincinnati.
Give offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt a ton of credit for prioritizing the most important aspect of this game with his play calling - keep MVP-favorite Josh Allen off the field. The best example of this came in the second quarter on that aforementioned 16-play drive - the perfect combination of run and pass that ate clock and kept the drive alive. On top of the ball control, Van Pelt seemed to have a change of heart with designed run plays for Maye, and was even comfortable allowing his offense to go for points on their final possession of the half - a rarity for his unit in 2024. They weren’t successful, but that type of mentality had to be invigorating for a New England sideline that hasn’t had a lot to cheer for the first 15 games of the season.
And later on in this section, we’ll give a ton of credit to special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer (if you watched the game, you know exactly why).
Great job by most of New England’s coaches on Sunday, who have a ton to prove to both fans and ownership over the last month of the season.
- Joe Cardona/Dell Pettus/Jeremy Springer: Yes, this is a first!
The special teams coordinator, veteran long snapper and rookie safety combined for one of the coolest plays of the season with just under four minutes to go in the second quarter.
On 4th and 1 from the New England 23, Bryce Baringer was on the field for the Patriots ready for a punt.
…not so fast!
Long snapper Joe Cardona snapped the ball directly to Pettus, who was lined up in the backfield in the personal protector spot. Pettus ran the direct snap right up the gut, and picked up the first down.
If this risky play call by Springer (and Mayo, probably) doesn’t run perfectly, you’re giving the ball to one of the best offenses in the NFL deep in your own territory, inviting them to get back in the ballgame down 14-7.
All the major parties involved got it right, so all parties involved get recognition in “Ups.”
Unfortunately for New England, they were punting the ball four plays later. But they avoided disaster, put a scare into Buffalo and showed some real gumption by attempting the fake punt.
Downs:
- Rhamondre Stevenson: I’ll be completely honest - at one point in this game, Stevenson was in the “Ups” section. And if you were watching, you know exactly what I’m talking about:
On the second drive of the game, Stevenson got things started with a 14-yard gain on 1st and 10 from the New England 23, and finished things off with a 14-yard scamper to the end zone 15 plays later. An extra point from Slye later, and it was a 14-0 lead at the top of the second quarter for New England.
But on New England’s opening drive of the second half, Stevenson fumbled the football on 2nd and 3, with Buffalo recovering the football from the Patriots 42. This was his seventh lost fumble of the season, marking a return to an issue earlier in the season that ultimately got the veteran running back benched.
After New England allowed Buffalo to tie the game at 14-14 on their first drive of the second half, they were now giving the Bills both primo field position and momentum to take the lead for the first time on Sunday. Six plays later, that’s exactly what they did - kicker Tyler Bass was good from 50 yards out, and Buffalo was on top 17-14 with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter.
Fast-forwarding to the top of the fourth quarter, Stevenson dropped a backwards pass that ultimately was recovered by Buffalo in the end zone that helped extend Buffalo’s lead to 24-14. Stevenson can’t drop that ball in that situation, given the field position and the point his team was at in the ballgame. But I can’t sit here and put this one completely on him, as I’ll explain more in the next entry in “Downs.”
After a promising start from one of New England’s best players, two costly mistakes ultimately lands Stevenson in “Downs” for the first time in a long time.
- Offensive Line: On the opening drive of the ballgame, Maye was under a ton of pressure from a Buffalo front that was clearly looking to exploit a weakness for New England. With a rookie QB under center that lacked experience playing in the cold, it made sense that Buffalo wanted to make him feel that cold. If Maye wasn’t the fleet-footed QB that he is, that opening drive touchdown is almost certainly a three-and-out.
On the second drive of the game, right tackle Demontrey Jacobs was called for a false start, which has continued to be a problem for New England’s tackles all season long. He was called for yet another false start in the fourth quarter, and it’s safe to say that he’ll be called for a false start a few more times as the season rolls on.
Three plays after Jacobs' first false start, the offensive line was bailed out, with Maye scrambling for 10 on a 3rd and 9 play that under most circumstances would have been a sack. Lucky for the O-line, Maye is among the best running QBs in the NFL, and the drive stayed alive.
Seven plays later on the first play of the second quarter, Maye was flushed out of the pocket on 1st and goal from the Buffalo 8. He just got rid of it towards the sidelines while being taken to the ground. That’s the type of pressure that could get your QB injured, or force a turnover.
On the third drive of the game on 2nd and 10, the Patriots offensive line was unable to handle the blitz on a designed screen play, and Maye just had to get rid of the ball to avoid either taking a sack or turning the ball over. Two plays later, the Patriots were punting for the first time on Sunday.
Let’s fast forward to the fourth quarter, where an awful attempt at a cut block by Jacobs led to 6 points for Buffalo.
On 2nd and 8 from their own 12 yard line, Maye was looking to set-up Stevenson for a screen pass, with his pass being thrown slightly backwards to the running back. But with Jacobs whiffing on a cut block on Gregory Rousseau, the Bills linebacker blew up the play. The ball was free, and Buffalo’s Taron Johnson recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. A Bass extra point later, and the Bills were on top 24-14 with 10:10 remaining in the fourth quarter. This is a demerit for both Jacobs and Stevenson.
Buffalo came in with a clear intention to pressure Maye all game long, and New England’s O-line was not up for the challenge.
- Marte Mapu: In the second quarter, the second-year safety made a really bone-headed mistake after making a nice play.
On a 3rd and 16 for Buffalo, Allen tossed a ball to the end zone on a play that was basically a punt for the Bills. Mapu made the easy pick on the jump ball, but for some reason tried to run it out from about 8 yards deep in the end zone.
In doing so, Mapu got dragged down as he was just leaving the painted area, with his hand making first contact with the ground on the New England 1 yard line.
I probably should have created a “Some Ups, Some Downs” section for Mapu, as he did what he had to do with completing the easy pick. But with that bad decision of attempting to run it out, the positive became a negative. The interception, in essence, became a coffin kick.
On the next Bills possession, Mapu dropped a pick at the Bills 32 yard line that hit him right in the hands. With the score 14-7 and the clock dwindling before halftime, this would have truly flipped the game.
(I don’t think I would’ve included the above dropped-pick if I didn’t already have an entire entry for him, but figured it was worth including since I had the real estate for it)
- Run Defense: James Cook and the rest of the Bills running backs did whatever they wanted on Sunday.
With defensive tackle Christian Barmore being ruled out for the remainder of the season on Thursday with recurring symptoms due to blood clots, they were down an important body in the middle of their defense. And even though Barmore hasn’t looked like the Barmore of year’s past since making his season debut in mid-November, his absence exposed New England’s lack of depth at the position on Sunday.
New England allowed 170 yards on the ground on 27 carries, with Cook accounting for 100 on 11 attempts.
This, along with the Bills second half comeback, is why Covington was left out of the coaches party during “Ups.”
With today’s loss to the Bills, New England moves to 2-8 against their AFC East rival since the start of the 2020 season.
The Patriots (3-12) have now lost five games in a row, and will look to avoid their second six-game losing streak of the season in Week 17 against the Chargers (9-6).
They’ll play host to Los Angeles on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.