The Buffalo Bills continue to struggle against their AFC East rivals in the New England Patriots.
The Bills fell to 3-1 on the season after a 16-10 loss to New England on Sunday at New Era Field. It is the eighth straight loss for the Bills to the Patriots on home soil.
Josh Allen struggled throughout the game, going 13-of-28 for 153 yards in the air and three interceptions before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a head injury. Matt Barkley stepped in an attempt to finish the comeback, but did not fare much better, going 9-of-16 for 127 yards and the game-sealing interception with 1:27 left in the game.
Frank Gore surpassed the 15,000-rushing yards mark for his career with 109 yards rushing, while Cole Beasley led the Bills with 75 yards on seven catches.
The Bills defense did a good job holding off the Patriots offense, including Tom Brady. Brady was just 18-of-39 for only 150 yards, and also threw his first interception of the season. The Bills out-gained New England in total yards as well, 375-224.
Unfortunately, turnovers and special teams also went the Patriots' way. All 16 points scored by the Patriots were a result of turnovers, including a 13-0 start to the game for the visitors.
Allen's first interception proved to be costly in the first quarter as Brady and the offense turned it back for a 50-yard drive, capped off by a Brandon Bolden four-yard touchdown run. Stephen Gostkowski missed the extra-point, but Buffalo's next drive wound up ending in disaster as well. Corey Bojorquez's punt was blocked by the Patriots and Matthew Slater returned the football for a touchdown to make it 13-0.
On the next New England drive, the team took the ball down the field in a drive that lasted over eight minutes. However, the Buffalo defense came up huge in the red zone as safety Micah Hyde went up on a third down pass into the endzone and picked off Brady for a touchback.
Buffalo responded with their first points of the game in the form of a Stephen Hauschka 46-yard field goal to cut the lead to 13-3.
The second half started strong for the Bills, as they stormed down the field on the opening drive of the third quarter with a touchdown to cut into New England's lead again, 13-10. It was Allen who managed to jump over the pile of bodies at the goal line get the ball across the plain for a one-yard touchdown. The touchdown was the first offensive touchdown given up by the Patriots since the divisional round of the playoffs last year against the Los Angeles Chargers.
However, Allen would throw his third interception in the third quarter, giving the Patriots another chance to add points to their lead, which came via a Gostkowski field goal to make the score 16-10.
While that was it for the scoring, the game still had plenty of drama.
Allen's day ended early in the fourth quarter as the second-year quarterback was placed in the league's concussion protocol after a helmet-to-helmet hit by Patriots safety Jonathan Jones.
Barkley came in to finish the game under center for the Bills, leading the Bills down to the Patriots' three-yard line. However, a pass on fourth-and-goal to Zay Jones wound up incomplete and the Bills turned over the football on downs.
The Bills defense held strong for the rest of the contest, allowing Barkley and the offense one last chance to get a comeback win. However, as the Bills made it past midfield, Barkley was hit while throwing and the pass wound up in the hands of Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins.
New England then got the chance to kneel out the game and hand Buffalo their first loss of the season.
- 0-0 TIE - Patriots interception - Josh Allen is picked off by cornerback Devin McCourty at the Patriots' 31-yard line, returned it to the 50-yard line.
- 6-0 PATRIOTS - Patriots touchdown - Brandon Bolden 4-yard touchdown run (Stephen Gostkowski's extra-point is no good)
- Drive info: 7 plays, 50 yards, 2:57
- 13-0 PATRIOTS - Patriots touchdown - New England blocks a Buffalo punt that is recovered by Matthew Slater and returned for a touchdown (Stephen Gostkowski's extra-point is good)
- Drive info: 1 play, 33 yards, 0:08
- 13-0 PATRIOTS - Patriots interception - Josh Allen is intercepted by J.C. Jackson at the New England 10-yard line, returned to the Patriots' 29-yard line
Second Quarter:
- 13-0 PATRIOTS - Bills interception - Micah Hyde intercepts a Tom Brady pass in the endzone for a touchback.
- 13-3 PATRIOTS - Bills field goal - Stephen Hauschka's 46-yard field goal attempt is good
- Drive info: 6 plays, 52 yards, 2:13
- 13-3 PATRIOTS - Bills missed field goal - Stephen Hauschka's 49-yard attempt is no good
Third Quarter:
- 13-10 PATRIOTS - Bills touchdown - Josh Allen 1-yard touchdown run (Stephen Hauschka's extra-point is good)
- Drive info: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:23
- 13-10 PATRIOTS - Patriots interception - J.C. Jackson intercepts Josh Allen for the second time at the Buffalo 43-yard line.
- 16-10 PATRIOTS - Patriots field goal - Stephen Gostkowski's 23-yard field goal attempt is good
- Drive info: 7 plays, 38 yards, 2:59
Fourth Quarter:
- 16-10 PATRIOTS - Bills turnover on downs - The Bills' drive gets stalled at the Patriots' 3-yard line after a pass to Zay Jones falls incomplete
- 16-10 PATRIOTS - Patriots interception - Matt Barkley's arm gets hit on a pass attempt, and is picked off by linebacker Jamie Collins at the New England 38-yard line, returned to the Patriots' 49-yard line.
LoTempio Complete Stats of the Game
Josh Allen - 13-of-28, 153 yards, 3 INT
Matt Barkley - 9-of-16, 127 yards, 1 INT
Tom Brady - 18-of-39, 150 yards, 1 INT
Frank Gore - 17 carries, 109 yards
Josh Allen - 5 carries, 26 yards, 1 TD
Sony Michel - 17 carries, 63 yards
Philip Dorsett - 1 carry, 9 yards
Brandon Bolden - 1 carry, 4 yards, 1 TD
James White - 1 carry, 1 yard
Tom Brady - 3 carries, -3 yards
Cole Beasley - 7 receptions, 75 yards
John Brown - 5 receptions, 69 yards
T.J. Yeldon - 4 receptions, 68 yards
Dawson Knox - 3 receptions, 58 yards
Andre Roberts - 1 reception, 6 yards
Zay Jones - 2 receptions, 4 yards
James White - 8 receptions, 57 yards
Josh Gordon - 3 receptions, 46 yards
Julian Edelman - 4 receptions, 30 yards
Philip Dorsett - 2 receptions, 10 yards
Rex Burkhead - 1 reception, 7 yards
Tremaine Edmunds - 11 tackles
Jordan Poyer - 6 tackles
Levi Wallace - 6 tackles
Matt Milano - 6 tackles
Micah Hyde - 3 tackles, 1 interception
Kyle Van Noy - 8 tackles, 2 sacks
John Simon - 6 tackles, 1 sack
Devin McCourty - 5 tackles, 1 interception
Jamie Collins - 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception
J.C. Jackson - 2 tackles, 1 interception, 1 blocked punt
BUF: 375NE: 224
BUF: 240NE: 150
BUF: 135NE: 74
BUF: 23NE: 11
BUF: 8 for 76 NE: 8 for 58
BUF: 32:40 NE: 27:20
The Bills go back on the road next Sunday, looking to get back into the win column against the Tennessee Titans (2-2) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. with John Murphy, Eric Wood and Sal Capaccio on the call.