ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Receiver Stefon Diggs is quite comfortable putting on a show in Buffalo. The big difference on Sunday night was doing so for the Bills’ division rival New England Patriots.
Diggs had 10 catches for 146 yards, with 119 coming in the second half, in a 23-20 win over the Bills sealed by Andy Borregales hitting a 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining.
In teaming up with quarterback Drake Maye and Rhamondre Stevenson, who scored two touchdowns rushing, the Patriots left the NFL without an undefeated team five weeks into the season.
Diggs followed up his six-catch, 101-yard outing in in last week's 43-13 win over Carolina by topping it in the 31-year-old’s first return to Orchard Park, New York, since his four-year stint in Buffalo ended with him being traded to Houston in April 2024.
“It was lit, prime time," said Diggs, who set nearly every single-season franchise receiving record in Buffalo during his four-year tenure. “It was electrifying. I knew it was going to be a test for us.”
It’s a test the up-and-coming Patriots passed under Maye, the blossoming second-year starter, first-year coach Mike Vrabel and veteran running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who scored on 4- and 7-yard runs.
The Patriots won back-to-back games for the first time since winning three in a row midway through the 2022 season. New England has a winning record through five games for the first time since opening the 2019 season 8-0.
And the Patriots tightened the AFC East race by moving within one game of the five-time defending division champion Bills (4-1).
Maye finished 22 of 30 for 273 yards, and was near-perfect in the second half by going 13 of 14 for 184 yards. No throw was more impressive than when he began the final drive by eluding the grasp of Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and getting off a 12-yard completion to Diggs.
“You know this was his storybook,” Maye said of the receiver who signed with New England in March, and after his time in Houston was cut short by a torn knee ligament last season.
“Coming back here first game, prime time, you could see it all week. He just loves football,” Maye said. “He’s got a lot in the tank left, so it’s good he’s a Patriot.”
The Bills essentially beat themselves in snapping a 14-game home winning streak that was one short of the franchise record and dated to a 24-22 loss to Denver on Nov. 13, 2023.
The Bills had three turnovers, two by Allen. He muffed a handoff to tight end Dawson Knox to end Buffalo’s opening drive. Allen was also picked off by Marcus Jones at New England’s 10, with the Bills trailing 13-10.
Receiver Keon Coleman lost a fumble at his own 11.
“We just played sloppy. Not going to win a football game turning the ball over three times,” Allen said. “That’s just bad football. We just did not play good tonight.”
Allen, last season’s MVP, finished 22 of 31 for 253 yards and threw touchdown passes to Coleman and Curtis Samuel.
Turnovers weren’t the only issue as Buffalo was limited scoring 20 or fewer points for just the fourth time since the start of 2024.
Before Borregales’ decisive kick, the Bills’ drive stalled at New England’s 28 and Buffalo settled for Matt Prater’s 45-yard field goal to tie the game with 2:17 left.
“I thought we beat ourselves,” coach Sean McDermott said. “Just not enough complementary football. Just didn’t seem like we were into a rhythm offensively enough. And when we did, we had penalties, self-inflicted wounds early on in the game.”
The Bills had 11 accepted penalties for 90 yards against them.
Buffalo and Philadelphia entered the day as the NFL’s last unbeaten teams. The Eagles lost to visiting Denver. It’s the first time since 2014 and seventh time since the 1970 merger that no team has started 5-0.
The Patriots’ defense limited James Cook to 49 yards on 15 carries. Cook was held under 100 yards from scrimmage for the first time this season, and his streak of eight games with a rushing touchdown was snapped.
Injuries
Patriots: RB Antonio Gibson did not return after sustaining a knee injury while returning a kickoff six minutes into the second quarter.
Bills: C Connor McGovern returned after having tests on his hand. LB Matt Milano did not return after aggravating a pectoral injury that forced him to miss the previous two games. DT Ed Oliver missed his fourth straight game with a sprained ankle.
Up next
Patriots: Continue a three-game road swing at New Orleans next Sunday.
Bills: Play at Atlanta in a Monday night game on Oct. 13.
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