Three Studs, Three Duds From Patriots’ Unfortunate Win Over Bills

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots didn’t do much right this season, which carried over into the finale.

New England could have clinched the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft but instead decided to be competitive and earn a 23-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills. It’s probably a bit much to say that Sunday was a disaster, but there was no worse outcome in what was an otherwise meaningless game.

It’s time to hand out superlatives for the final time this season, so let’s take a look at the studs and duds from a win over Buffalo:

STUDS

Joe Milton III
Milton spent the entirety of his rookie season preparing others to play, serving as a highly-touted scout team contributor. The Patriots elevated him into a much more important role Sunday, though, and have to be pleased with the results.

Milton finished with 257 total yards and two total touchdowns, coming into the game after just one series. New England isn’t going to shove all of its eggs into that basket moving forward, but it’s probably nice knowing there’s a decent backup quarterback already in the building.

Alex Austin
The Patriots didn’t want to push things with Christian Gonzalez — who was inactive from the game with a concussion — and Jonathan Jones — who is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason. Austin was thrust into some pretty tough assignments and performed admirably. The Bills probably could have blown the game open if it weren’t for his work.

Kayshon Boutte
The Patriots hadn’t had a wide receiver eclipse 100 total receiving yards in a single game since Kendrick Bourne on Christmas Eve of 2022 until Sunday. Boutte had seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown to end the season on solid footing before his head injury.

DUDS

Joe Milton III
Milton was really good, but that wasn’t the assignment. New England lost out on something much more valuable by winning.

Demontrey Jacobs
The Patriots looked like they would make an honest effort early in the game, then Jacobs almost got Drake Maye killed and they pulled the plug. Milton entered the game on the next series before Jacobs was eventually replaced by Caedan Wallace and moved over to the left side where he didn’t fare any better.

Robert Kraft
The Patriots would have had plenty of options if they captured the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, most of which would have involved trading back to recoup value. Milton, Boutte and the rest of Sunday’s contributors must not have taken that into account, because any chance they had at it is now gone.

It was a bad season with a bad ending. Did you expect anything less?