FOXBOROUGH -- The Patriots treated it like a playoff game during the week, and it ended up feeling like one Saturday afternoon.
In a game that was close the whole way, the Patriots came away with a 24-17 win over the Bills to clinch the AFC East once again.
Trailing 17-13 going into the fourth quarter, Nick Folk kicked a short field goal to make it a one-point game and then on the next possession Rex Burkhead recorded a 1-yard touchdown with just over five minutes to play to take the lead. Julian Edelman added the two-point conversion to give the Patriots the seven-point lead.
It came down to the end though as the Bills got all the way inside the 10-yard line on the final drive before sacks knocked the Bills back to the 15 and Josh Allen's pass fell incomplete on fourth down.
Here are 10 quick thoughts on the game.
1. Tom Brady and the Patriots offense found life for the first time since the early part of the season. It was able to move the ball down the field with relative ease against a very good Bills defense, as Jake Bailey only needed to punt twice in the game. On top of a good running day, Tom Brady had his best game in a long time going 26-for-33 with 271 yards and a touchdown.
2. While the defense didn't force any turnovers, the unit did a solid job against the Bills offense. Overall, it should have probably done better against Allen and Co., especially at the end of the half and the game. It took a goal-line stand at the end to come away with the win when it didn't need to get that far. Still, this unit is one of the best in the league and should not be an issue moving forward.
3. A big sequence occurred at the end of the first half when with under a minute left, the Patriots were stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Buffalo 41-yard line. With 33 seconds remaining, the Bills then went down the field and scored a touchdown on a 1-yard pass to tackle-eligible Dion Dawkins to tie the game at 10 going into the half. In hindsight, the Patriots would have been better off punting.
4. The Bills offense had just 50 yards of total offense before the final drive of the first half, but then went 59 yards on the way to the touchdown. According to ESPN, it was just the third time in the Bill Belichick era that a team got the ball with under a minute left in a half and scored a touchdown against the Patriots.
5. Julian Edelman was forced from the game in the third quarter with a head injury, which occurred on a play that his pass interference penalty negated a Benjamin Watson touchdown. Edelman laid on the ground for a few extra seconds and then got up. He was then brought into the blue medical and then into the locker room. Edelman was able to come back with just over nine minutes to go in the game and immediately caught a 30-yard pass from Brady helping towards the TD drive.
6. Mohamed Sanu had some issues again. He ran a route short of the sticks on third down and then on fourth down he whiffed on a block that allowed the defender to up-end N'Keal Harry on an end-around for a 1-yard loss. He finished with three catches for 24 yards. More is expected given the Patriots gave up a second-round pick for him.
7. Led by Sony Michel, the Patriots' run game continued to ride the momentum from last week against the Bengals. Michel ran for a season-high 96 yards on 21 carries. The offensive line may have had its best game of the season.
8. Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll called a solid game. The former Patriots tight end coach must've learned from Josh McDaniels, as he used a number of misdirection plays that seemed to confuse the Patriots defense. It's worth wondering what he could do with an offense like the Chiefs, or anther offense with a lot of weapons.
9. While Jason McCourty was active, he left the game early on after re-aggravating his groin injury. This forced rookie Joejuan Williams into seeing more action than usual with Jonathan Jones already out to start the game. McCourty is another player who would benefit from an extra week off.
10. Marcus Cannon left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and Marshall Newhouse took over for him. Newhouse was decent in the running game, but again struggled in pass protection.
Rex Burkhead finished with a career-high 77 yards receiving on four catches.
