FOXBORO, Mass. — Josh Allen didn’t make many mistakes Sunday in the Buffalo Bills’ win over the Patriots. And when he did, New England’s defense failed to capitalize.
A pivotal play in Buffalo’s 33-21 victory at Gillette Stadium came with 7:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Patriots had just scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to cut the Bills’ lead to five.
On first-and-10 from his own 25-yard line, Allen sailed a pass over the head of wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The ball zipped straight to cornerback J.C. Jackson — who dropped it.
It wasn’t a routine catch — Jackson had to reach back across his body to get his hands on it — but was one the Pro Bowl cover man, who has more interceptions than anyone in the NFL since 2018, should have made.
“There were a couple 50-50 balls that we need to come up with,” linebacker Kyle Van Noy said after the game. “I know J.C.’s kicking himself for that pick, but we’ve got to have those, especially this time of the year with the season on the line. We’ve all got to come together and do a little bit more, and I think we should be able to do that.”
Given new life after the botched INT, Allen marched the Bills 75 yards in 13 plays, converting two third-and-10s with his arm (completions of 17 yards to Isaiah McKenzie and 19 yards to Diggs) and a fourth-and-1 with legs. He capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox that put the game out of reach.
The Bills went 6-for-12 on third down and 3-for-4 on fourth down in the game.
The Knox touchdown capped an all-around dominant performance by Allen, who became just the second quarterback to throw for 300-plus yards against the Patriots this season (314 on 30-of-47 passing), joining Dak Prescott. He also rushed for 64 yards on 12 carries despite obvious efforts by New England to limit that aspect of his game.
It was a tough game for Jackson, who also allowed a touchdown to Diggs and missed three tackles, including one on Allen’s fourth-and-1 conversion.
The Patriots now have lost back-to-back games since their Week 14 bye, relinquishing control of the AFC East to Buffalo. New England will look to lock down a playoff spot as it hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars and visits the Miami Dolphins to close out the regular season.
“Disappointing, but credit to them,” Van Noy said. “They won. They made more plays than we did. And the season’s not over yet, which is encouraging, because we get to come back next Sunday and play at home again. … I could sit up here all day and talk about yada, yada, yada, but at the end of the day, we’ve just got to go produce. Talk less and play more.”
