Annihilate. Destroy. Obliterate. All words that can be used to accurately describe what the Buffalo Bills did to the New England Patriots on Saturday in their AFC Wild Card Round bout.
The Bills defeated the Patriots, 47-17 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park in a game that'll go down in Bills lore as one of the most dominant postseason performances in team history.
The Bills opened the game with the football after the Patriots won the coin toss and elected to defer.
Buffalo's opening drive was led by quarterback Josh Allen rushing on the ground. He ran for 41 yards on the opening drive. It ended with an incredibly improbable touchdown catch by Bills tight end Dawson Knox.
On the following drive, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones took after Allen, scrambling for 16 yards to get his offense down the field. However, when he tried to dial up the deep ball like Allen, he was intercepted by Bills safety Micah Hyde.
After taking over at their own 20-yard line, the Bills offense had their way, en route to scoring their second touchdown of the night.
Allen and Knox connected for the tight end's second touchdown catch of the first quarter. After Tyler Bass' extra point kick, the Bills were up 14-0 with 40 seconds to go in the opening 15 minutes.
To open up the second quarter, the Bills defense was able to force the Patriots offense to go three-and-out.
Allen and the Bills offense took over at their own 19-yard line. They marched 81 yards down the field in 10 plays to find pay dirt again. Running back Devin Singletary punched it in from three yards out to give the Bills a 20-0 lead, as the ensuing extra point attempt was blocked by New England.
The Bills offense was firing on all cylinders on their first three drives.
The Buffalo defense was also firing on all cylinders. On the following New England drive, the defense forced the New England offense into another three-and-out. Bills defensive tackle Star Lotulelei got the Bills first sack of the game, which forced the Patriots offense into 3rd-and-long.
On Buffalo's following offensive drive, the unit made a few highlight-worthy plays. The most notable came when they dialed up the deep ball, with wide receiver Stefon Diggs catching a 45-yard pass from Allen, getting by Patriots corner J.C. Jackson in the process.
The drive ended with Singletary finding the end zone for a second time to put the Bills up 27-0. This touchdown run came from 16 yards out.
With 1:53 on the clock, the Patriots offense was able to drive 49 yards in 10 plays to end their scoreless drought. Patriots kicker Nick Folk nailed a 44-yard field goal to make the score 27-3 just before halftime.
Since the Patriots opened the game by electing to defer the coin toss, they started the second half on offense. Their drive only lasted four plays, as cornerback Levi Wallace intercepted Jones by snagging a tipped pass.
The Bills were able to capitalize off the Patriots' second turnover of the game. Allen dialed up the deep ball once again, this time finding wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in the end zone for his third passing touchdown of the game.
On the ensuing drive, the Patriots were able to find end zone for the first time. Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Jones on 4th-and-goal.
The Bills offense continued to do what they had been doing all night on their next drive: Scoring touchdowns.
Earlier in the contest, they became the first team in the Super Bowl era to score touchdowns on all of their first five drives, according to Elias Sports. They made it six, when wide receiver Gabriel Davis caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Allen to make it 40-10, Buffalo.
The Patriots offense took the field again, but once agian, found little to no success. Bills defensive end Carlos "Boogie" Basham notched his first career playoff sack on the stop.
Down 30 points with 10:30 left on the clock, the Patriots elected to punt on 4th-and-10 instead of trying to extend the drive.
The Bills offense kept the pedal to the metal, as they maestro'd their seventh-consecutive touchdown drive of the game. This time, it was rookie offensive tackle Tommy Doyle hauling in Allen's fifth touchdown pass of the game. By this point, Doyle had as many touchdowns as the Patriots combined.
While the Patriots were down 37 points with 8:37 game, they did not give up. Jones led a 15-play, 73-yard drive which ended in Bourne's second touchdown catch of the night. The drive spanned 6:53 on the clock.
After the Bills got the ball back, they sent out quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to get the game across the finish line with a series of kneel downs to seal the deal.
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SCORING SUMMARY:
First Quarter:
- 7-0 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (9:45) - Josh Allen floats an eight-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Knox. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 9 plays, 70 yards, 5:15
- 14-0 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (0:40) - Josh Allen fires an 11-yard touchdown strike to Dawson Knox. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 10 plays, 80 yards, 5:00
Second Quarter:
- 20-0 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (7:20) - Devin Singletary punches in a three-yard touchdown run. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt was blocked)
Drive info: 10 plays, 81 yards, 6:03
- 27-0 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (1:53) - Devin Singletary breaks to the outside for a 16-yard touchdown run. (Tyler Bass- extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 4 plays, 89 yards, 1:51
- 27-3 BUFFALO: Patriots field goal (0:01) - Nick Folk's 44-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 10 plays, 49 yards, 1:52
Third Quarter:
- 33-3 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (8:48) - Josh Allen tosses a 34-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt was blocked)
Drive info: 6 plays, 58 yards, 4:05
- 33-10 BUFFALO: Patriots touchdown (4:12) - Mac Jones finds Kendrick Bourne for a three-yard touchdown pass. (Nick Folk's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:36
Fourth Quarter:
- 40-10 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (13:22) - Josh Allen connects with Gabriel Davis for a 19-yard touchdown pass. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 9 plays, 77 yards, 5:50
- 47-10 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (8:37) - Josh Allen floats a one-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Doyle. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 3 plays, 39 yards, 1:36
- 47-17 BUFFALO: Patriots touchdown (1:44) - Mac Jones tosses a four-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne. (Nick Folk's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 15 plays, 73 yards, 6:53
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SKYWORKS EQUIPMENT RENTAL STATS OF THE GAME
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What's Next:
Buffalo will look ahead towards the AFC Divisional Round next weekend. The Bills will either face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, or host the Cincinnati Bengals in Orchard Park, pending the outcome of the Chiefs' AFC Wild Card Round matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.
