Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Too many turnovers. Too many penalties. The offense was terrible in the first half. The defense was terrible in the second half.
In a nutshell, that is why the Buffalo Bills lost to the New England Patriots, 23-20, on Sunday night at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
Sunday's loss snaps the Bills' 14-game regular season winning streak at home. It also moved the Patriots (3-2) to within a game of the Bills (4-1) in the AFC East, and probably has New England believing they are now a division title contender.
The Bills' inability to put together a complete game was, once again, on display, except this time there would be no comeback win after trailing by double-digit points in the fourth quarter.
Offensively, the Bills put together one of their worst first halves of football in recent memory.
They couldn't get James Cook and the running game going, although that was more about New England's defense, which did come into the game with the second-best run defense in the NFL. That made the Bills one dimensional, which isn't necessarily a bad thing when you have Josh Allen as your quarterback.
However, there were way too many self-inflicted errors.
On Buffalo's first possession, the Bills moved the ball from their own 14-yard line to the New England 47-yard line. For some reason, they then decided to do an end-around with tight end Dawson Knox at that point, but the Bills botched the handoff and the Patriots recovered the fumble.
On the Bills' second drive, a Ty Johnson run would have given them a first down inside the Patriots' 30-yard line, but that play was wiped out by an illegal formation penalty. The drive died and the Bills punted.
On their third possession, a Dalton Kincaid holding penalty on the first play was followed by a Keon Coleman fumble, giving the visitors a drive start at the Bills' 11-yard line.
However, the Bills defense - which was great in the first half - held the Patriots to a field goal.
After having just one giveaway over the first four games, the Bills had two in the first half. They had more accepted penalties on the offense (five) than points produced (three). The end result of their five first half drives were a field goal, two lost fumbles and two punts.
Then it was the defense's turn to struggle.
In the first half, New England averaged 4.4 yards a play. In the second half, that shot up to 7.8 yards.
Second-year quarterback Drake Maye made some huge throws for the Patriots, while leading them to a pair of touchdowns and a game-winning field goal drive.
The Bills were done in by an old teammate of theirs, Stefon Diggs. The former Bills wide receiver - in his first game at Highmark Stadium since being traded to the Houston Texans following the 2023 season - was unstoppable.
Diggs made catch-after-catch-after-catch. There were clutch catches on third down that allowed drives to continue, and explosive plays downfield too. He ended up with eight receptions on 10 targets for 146 yards.
All of the Bills' wide receivers combined for 16 fewer yards than Diggs. No Bills wideout had more than 45 yards.
Maye, who was definitely showing signs of improvement in Year 2, left town with a signature performance and win. In the second half, he completed 13-of-14 pass attempts for 184 yards, and on a few occasions he turned what looked to be a sack into a completed pass.
It was not a good night for officials either. Way too many flags.
Both teams combined for 19 penalties that were accepted. There were a handful of penalties declined and two more that offset. New England didn't get an accepted penalty against them until 1:11 remaining in the first half.
Here are some more bonus notes from the game, though they aren't good ones:
- The Bills had won 11-straight games at home against division foes. This was the first loss since the crazy wind game against the Patriots in 2021.
- The 20 points scored are the fewest by the Bills since Oct. 15, 2023 against the New York Giants (15).
- The three first-half points were the lowest for the Bills since Week 5 last year against the Texans.
- James Cook was held to 49 yards on 15 carries. His 3.3 yards per-carry is his lowest of the season.
- There was one good note: Kincaid had a great game, recording a career-best 108 yards and catching all six of his targets.
The Bills will have an extra day to get ready for the Atlanta Falcons and a "Monday Night Football" road game. The Falcons had their bye this past weekend.
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