For the first time since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the New England Patriots played a meaningless regular season football game on Monday Night. Josh Allen tossed four touchdown passes, three to Stephon Diggs, as the AFC East Champion Buffalo Bills rolled to a 38-9 win.
Buffalo (12-3) took control by scoring on four of five possessions in the first half. New England (6-9) had one lead in the game on a Nick Folk field goal on the first drive of the game. Allen threw touchdown passes of four yards to Lee Smith and 50 yards to Diggs, and Zack Moss had a five yard scoring run. The Patriots got a nine yard Cam Newton TD run, but Folk missed the extra point and it was 24-9 Bills at the break.
Allen was at it again on the first drive of the third with another connection to Diggs for a score of 18 yards. Newton was replaced by backup Jarrett Stidham at QB for New England halfway through the quarter. Allen completed his stellar night with a roll out to the left and another TD pass of eight yards off his back foot to Diggs early in the fourth, as the guests swept the season series for the first time since 1999.
Newton finished 5-10 passing for 34 yards, and also added four run attempts for 24 yards. He tied the franchise record for a quarterback with Steve Grogan with his 12th rushing TD of the season. The 34 pass yards were the fewest since Scott Secules had 13 in Week 10 of the 1993 season. Stidham went 4-11 for 44 yards. Sony Michel had 10 carries for 69 yards, and Jakobi Myers had four catches for 45 yards for a non-existent Patriots offense who totaled only 223 yards. Jonathan Jones had seven tackles to lead the defense. Allen was 27-36 for 320 yards in the win. Moss finished with 12 carries for 57 yards and a score, while Diggs caught nine passes for 145 yards with three of them going for touchdowns. Matt Milano led the defense with eight tackles and a sack, as Buffalo needs a win next week against Miami to finish up as the number two seed in the AFC for the upcoming playoffs. New England faces the New York Jets Sunday at 1 p.m. in the season finale at Gillette Stadium.
