FOXBORO, Mass. -- The final score -- and the fact that the Patriots never led and Bills quarterback Josh Allen was not sacked -- doesn't necessarily reflect it, but New England did put up a bit of a fight in Sunday's loss to Buffalo.
In the fourth quarter, the Bills scored to go up 26-14 and seemingly put the game in hand with 11:42 left to play. But the third touchdown of the day from Damien Harris with less than eight minutes to play suddenly put things in a different light, cutting Buffalo's lead to 26-21.
Allen explained what went through his head when the visiting team's lead suddenly was threatened late.
"We knew we needed points," Allen said after the win. "We wanted to put six on the board and give our defense that kind of bumper and that boost."
And while that was the game plan, Allen acknowledged that it wouldn't necessarily be easy to execute against the Patriots, despite what seemed to be a down day for the defense.
"That's a great team," Allen said. "They came into Buffalo and they played us really well. And they came out, and I think they played really well today."
The victory was more than a moral one for the Bills, who couldn't stop the Patriots' run game in their previous meeting in Week 13. It was a huge boost to their playoff chances, giving them the chance to control their own destiny in the AFC East.
"We have to finish," he said. "It starts off with our next one. That's all we're really gonna focus on. We can't look too far into the future. It's got to be this next one and then we'll go from there."
The Bills will travel to face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17, while the Patriots will host the Jacksonville Jaguars.
