Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills' undefeated run to start the 2025 season came to an end on Sunday night after a 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
The Patriots received the opening kickoff and attempted to make quick work of the Bills defense, but ultimately failed as Greg Rousseau had other plans. The veteran defensive end managed to get to Patriots quarterback Drake Maye for a sack on third down to force the first punt of the game.
The Bills offense was humming to start their first drive until a costly mistake just past midfield. Quarterbacked Josh Allen tried a handoff to tight end Dawson Knox, but the play went awry and fumbled the exchange. The loose ball ended up being recovered by Patriots defensive lineman Joshua Farmer.
Immediately after the fumble, the Patriots coughed the football back up to Buffalo, as running back Rhamondre Stevenson lost the ball and had it recovered by linebacker Terrel Bernard.
New England was able to capitalize on another Buffalo fumble in the first quarter, this time in Bills territory as wide receiver Keon Coleman had the ball stripped from him on a turnover.
Despite starting their next drive at the Buffalo 11-yard line, the Patriots failed to move the ball anywhere close to the end zone, resulting in kicker Andy Borregales converting a 30-yard field goal to give New England the first points of the game.
The Bills responded with an 11-play drive that extended 54 yards, but resulted in only three points to tie the game with a 31-yard field goal by kicker Matt Prater.
It was a game of penalties and punts with very little scoring opportunities for each team in the first half, as the final points of the opening 30 minutes came just before halftime with a 19-yard field goal from Borregales to give the Patriots a 6-3 lead heading into the locker room.
The Bills found some momentum to start the second half, as they marched down the field to score the game's first touchdown, coming courtesy of Allen connecting with wide receiver Curtis Samuel for a six-yard touchdown pass.
The Patriots immediately responded with a touchdown of their own. The drive saw former Bills wideout Stefon Diggs contributing with a couple of key catches to put New England in scoring position. Eventually, Stevenson made up for his earlier fumble with a four-yard touchdown run to put New England back up front.
As the Bills were driving following the Patriots' touchdown, Allen made a costly mistake inside the New England end zone with his second interception of the season, as Marcus Jones jumped in front of a pass intended for wide receiver Khalil Shakir.
The Patriots proceeded to capitalize on Allen's mistake, with more big plays from Diggs on their drive. Much like the last drive, it was Stevenson finding the end zone on the ground for his second touchdown of the game, this time from seven yards out to make it a 10-point game with 12:10 remaining in regulation.
A couple of costly penalties by the Patriots put the Bills back into scoring position, and eventually led to a two-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Coleman to cut the Buffalo deficit to three points with 7:37 remaining.
The Bills defense managed to force a three-and-out of the Patriots on their next drive, resulting in a New England punt and a chance for Buffalo to regain the lead in the late stages.
Buffalo managed to get back into field goal range for Prater when a third-down pass play intended for Shakir fell incomplete, but New England got away with a questionable non-call for defensive pass interference.
The Bills managed to tie the game at 20-20 with a 45-yard field goal their veteran kicker, but left 2:17 of clock for the Patriots to work with to go for the win.
New England managed their time well, marching down the field and forcing Buffalo to kill all three of its timeouts before getting Borregales out on the field to kick a game-winning 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining in the game.
With one last longshot chance and deep in their own territory, Allen was only able to connect on a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Joshua Palmer that fell well short of the mark, and the clock expired to conclude a 23-20 loss in Orchard Park.
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SCORING RECAP
First Quarter:
- 3-0 NEW ENGLAND: Patriots Field Goal (0:56) - Andy Borregales' 30-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 4 plays, -1 yards, 0:48
Second Quarter:
- 3-3 TIE: Bills Field Goal (9:34) - Matt Prater's 31-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 11 plays, 54 yards, 6:22
- 6-3 NEW ENGLAND: Patriots Field Goal (0:00) - Andy Borregales' 19-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 11 plays, 69 yards, 2:22
Third Quarter:
- 10-6 BUFFALO: Bills Touchdown (9:21) - Josh Allen tosses a short 6-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel. (Matt Prater's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 10 plays, 71 yards, 5:39
- 13-10 NEW ENGLAND: Patriots Touchdown (6:34) - Rhamondre Stevenson finds a hole and runs for a 4-yard touchdown. (Andy Borregales' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 5 plays, 74 yards, 2:47
Fourth Quarter:
- 20-10 NEW ENGLAND: Patriots Touchdown (12:10) - Rhamondre Stevenson hits open space for a 7-yard touchdown run. (Andy Borregales' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 11 plays, 90 yards, 5:43
- 20-17 BUFFALO: Bills Touchdown (7:37) - Josh Allen connects with Keon Coleman for a 2-yard touchdown pass. (Matt Prater's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 8 plays, 74 yards, 4:33
- 20-20 TIE: Bills Field Goal (2:17) - Matt Prater's 45-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 10 plays, 53 yards, 3:35
- 23-20 NEW ENGLAND: Patriots Field Goal (0:15) - Andy Borregales' 52-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 7 plays, 37 yards, 2:02
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SKYWORKS EQUIPMENT RENTAL STATS OF THE GAME:
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What's next:
The Bills will next head to Atlanta to face the Falcons for another prime-time matchup on "Monday Night Football". Kickoff is slated for 7:15 p.m. on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550.