Coming out of their Week 14 bye, the Patriots (11-3) were presented with the opportunity to reach two different milestones:
- Win 11-straight regular season games in one season for the first time since 2007
- Win the AFC East for the first time since 2019
Coming out of Week 15, the 2025 Patriots were unable to achieve either goal.
The win-streak dream will have to wait for 2026, and the division title will have to wait until Week 16.
On a snowy Sunday at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots lost 35-31 to the five-time defending division champion Bills (10-4).
What could have been a historic Sunday in Foxborough turned into one Pats fans will want to soon forget.
Here are your Ups & Downs for Week 15:
Ups:
- Drake Maye: The MVP candidate came out of the gate hot, eliciting the ‘M-V-P!’ chants that have become commonplace at Gillette Stadium this season the earliest we have heard them at any point throughout the 2025 season.
Just two minutes into the ballgame, the Patriots were faced with a 3rd and 7 from their own 45. Maye took a shotgun snap into a three-step drop, lofting the ball up the right sideline to third-year wide receiver Kayshon Boutte.
Boutte was blanketed by Bills corner Maxwell Hairston. It was going to take an absolutely perfectly placed ball from Maye for Boutte to come down with a catch.
And that’s exactly what he did, as the LSU-product lunged forward for one of the most impressive grabs you will see this season.
Four plays later, the Patriots took advantage of a slick playing surface, as Maye ran in a read option from 8 yards out for the first score of the game.
An extra point later, and the Patriots were up 7-0 before Josh Allen could even take the field.
That’s the type of execution you dream about come postseason against elite competition. New England moving the ball so seamlessly on their opening drive against a team like the Bills is an incredible sign for this group moving forward.
Maye’s legs were a theme throughout the first quarter, as two decisions by the second-year QB led to the Patriots punching in their second touchdown of the day on their third possession.
On a 1st and 10 from the 50, Maye saw an opening up the middle of the field after avoiding pressure in the backfield, scampering for a first down and more on a 17-yard gain (his “slide” was more of a fall, but that’s a different topic for a different day).
Five plays later from the Bills 7, Maye took a shotgun snap in for his second rushing score of the day after Buffalo left the entire middle of the field open for the North Carolina-product to take advantage of. An extra point later, and the Patriots were up 14-0.
On the final drive of the first half, the Patriots were faced with a 3rd and 3 from the Patriots 42. Maye, unfazed by pressure, stepped up in the pocket and delivered an 18-yard strike to tight end Hunter Henry for a first down. If not for that poise from Maye, New England doesn’t get that extra three points before the end of the half.
Yes, Maye threw a pick with under 2:00 to play in the third quarter. But that was, in essence, a punt, as he heaved the ball downfield on a 3rd-and-forever after multiple penalties knocked the Patriots back into an almost impossible position from their 42 yard line. After coming down with the pick, Tre'Davious White had set the Bills up for a 1st and 10 from their own 9 yard line.
The offense went cold in the second half, but I can’t ignore everything I saw in that first half. This kid remains special, regardless of the result on the scoreboard.
- TreVeyon Henderson: Henderson has become a bona fide home run hitter for the Patriots, which is exactly what fans were hoping for after he was selected 38th overall last spring.
The Ohio State-product’s 52-yard house call was a thing of beauty - the offensive line opened up a massive hole on the right side of the O-line, and Henderson hit it perfectly while turning on the jets at the exact right time.
Henderson’s big play ability has been missing in a big way from New England’s offense in recent years. This nugget from ESPN’s Mike Reiss on X from the first half is a perfect microcosm of what Henderson has brought to the table:
“From ESPN Research: The Patriots now have 3 rushing TDs of 50+ yards this season. They had 2 such TD total over the previous 15 seasons.”
All three of those touchdowns of 50+ yards have been thanks to the legs of Henderson.
…and with under 10:00 to play, Henderson’s legs had Reiss looking for the edit button on his X account.
On New England’s first offensive snap after the Bills took a 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter, Henderson went 65 yards to the house, taking the lead right back from Buffalo, 31-28.
After a toss play to the right looked like Henderson was going to get stuffed at the line of scrimmage, the 23-year-old scooted left, and went untouched to the end zone with Maye as his lead blocker all the way for 6.
You can’t coach this type of stuff, guys.
Josh McDaniels deserves a ton of credit for figuring out how to unlock this kid after a glacial start to his rookie season.
He’s become one of the most exciting players in the NFL.
- Mack Hollins: It may have only been 4 catches for 41 yards on the day, but they were all impactful grabs for the former Buffalo Bills receiver.
Sure, Stefon Diggs is always going to take top billing as the “revenge game” guy when the Patriots play the Bills, but Hollins is someone who Buffalo decided not to bring back after a nice season with the team in 2024.
You could see him playing with a little extra edge throughout the afternoon - even more so than normal.
His addition this offseason has been one of the many pleasant surprises in 2025.
Downs:
- The Defense: I hate to paint with such a broad brush for an entire side of the football, but it takes an entire unit to bottle up one of the best players of a generation.
And that’s exactly what the Patriots were able to pull off for the first part of Sunday, making Allen look somewhat pedestrian coming off one of his best performances of the season against the Bengals in Week 14.
Until Buffalo’s offense figured itself out in the second half, Allen and the Bills looked like any old offense. If you didn’t know he was the defending NFL MVP, you would have never been able to figure it out.
Down 21-0 with 5:53 to play in the first half, it looked like the Pats were well on their way to another blowout win on the season.
Then, of course, Allen threw on the Superman cape, successfully quarterbacking the Bills to five straight touchdowns on five possessions - the fourth TD giving them a 28-24 lead with 10:03 to play, and the fifth TD giving them a 35-31 lead with 6:48 to play. If you didn’t know he was the defending NFL MVP, you would after watching him starting at under 6:00 to play in the second quarter.
The Patriots came away with a stop on 3rd and 4 from the Buffalo 35 with 2:54 to play that resulted in a punt to New England, giving Maye a chance for a game-winning drive with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for New England, the offense just didn’t have enough steam left to make anything happen on that drive.
I give the Patriots credit for containing Allen out of the gate. I give them plenty of demerits for allowing him to unleash his full ability en route to a comeback win.
Had the Patriots held on for the W, the defense would have landed in “Some Ups, Some Downs.” They didn’t, and here we are.
- The Clock Operator/Refs: No disrespect for the nameless, faceless people running the video board in the stadium, but they, in conjunction with the refs, made the end of the first half a bit of a comedy show for how things were handled to make sure the correct amount of time was on the clock with under a minute to play.
“But at least we got it right,” lead official John Hussey said into his mic while correcting the first clock mistake on that final drive.
He spoke too soon.
Two plays later, they didn’t start the clock on a Rhamondre Stevenson run for 11 yards. There were six seconds left on the clock when the play started. By the time he was tackled the clock had still yet to run. The refs seemingly eyeballed it, and gave the Patriots 2 seconds to kick a field goal to go into the half leading 24-7.
The point of this entry into “Downs” - NFL officiating remains awful. I’m giving the clock operators the benefit of the doubt, and placing most of the blame here on the zebras.
- Special Teams: Buffalo had two kickoff returns go for big gainers.
The first was the opening return of the game, where the Bills brought the ball out all the way to the Patriots 49. It was a three and out, so no harm, no foul.
But on the opening kickoff of the second half, their gaffe on kick coverage led to an eventual score. Bills returner Ray Davis’ 58-yard return springboarded the Bills to a touchdown just six plays later.
Towards the end of the third quarter, Kyle Williams flashed his big play potential, breaking off a kickoff return for 60 yards. Unfortunately for Patriots fans, this was called back after Marte Mapu was flagged for holding early in the return. Instead of starting their drive from the Buffalo 33, they would start 1st and 10 from their own 41.
For a unit that has been great all season long, Sunday was not their best showing.
Something to monitor as the competition improves in the coming weeks.
- Stefon Diggs: After having his best game in a Patriots uniform in Week 5 against his former team, Diggs had a quiet day at Gillette Stadium.
3 catches on 3 targets for 26 yards.
You want your best players to show up in a big way for your biggest games. That didn’t happen for Diggs on Sunday.
The Patriots are back in action for Week 16 with a road game down in Baltimore (7-7). As of publishing, the Patriots are listed as a 2.5-point underdog against the Ravens, sitting at +114 on the moneyline. Have to imagine those numbers shift over the next few hours.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.