On a night that Mac Jones only attempted three passes, the New England Patriots rushed for 229 yards and made a late defensive stop to win their seventh game in a row on Monday by a score of 14-10 over the Buffalo Bills at a cold and windy Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
With winds howling up to 50 miles an hour, Jones only attempted one pass completing it for 12 yards in the first half as the weather and defenses controlled the opening 30 minutes. The Pats struck first when Damien Harris broke free for a 64 yard touchdown run with 5:28 left in the opening period to crack the scoreboard. Branden Bolden also ran in a two point conversion to make it 8-0 New England. The guests then forced a Buffalo punt, and N’Keal Harry came up to catch it but let it go but unfortunately for him it bounced off the turf and hit his face mask and the Bills recovered at their opponents 14 yard line. Josh Allen hit Gabriel Davis on a slant for a 14 yard score on the first play after the recovery to cut it to 8-7. Nick Folk would add a 41 yard field goal with 11:31 left in the second quarter and it was 11-7 New England at the break.
Tyler Bass cut it to a single point again with a 35 yard field goal for Buffalo with 6:35 left in the third quarter. New England then went on a 15 play drive that lasted 8:34 lasting into the fourth quarter, culminating in a 34 yard field goal by Folk to extend it back to a four point lead at 14-10 with 13:01 left to play. The Bills responded with a 12 play drive helped by a 21 yard run by Allen and a personal foul by Don’ta Hightower setting up a first and goal at the Patriots 6. Zack Moss was stopped for no gain on the first down play, Allen was sacked by Matt Judon back at the 15 yard line, and then Allen threw an incomplete pass on third down. Bass would miss a 33 yard field goal attempt to the right into the wind with 7:28 remaining to keep it at a four point deficit. After New England went three and out, Allen would hit Stephon Diggs on a 26 yard pass, and a 17 yard Devin Singletary run set Buffalo up at the Patriots 25 with 3:23 to go. Allen picked up another first down on a five yard scramble to the 14. Singletary picked up one yard from there on first down, and after an incomplete Allen pass and a false start penalty, Allen would roll out to the right on third down and 14 to avoid the rush and on the run would have his pass knocked down in the endzone by Adrian Phillips intended for Dawson Knox setting up a fourth down after the 2:00 warning. An Allen last ditch throw intended for Davis who was in the endzone was knocked down by Myles Bryant at about the 3 yard line that would end the game, as New England was able to run out the clock.
Jones was 2-3 for 19 yards passing, the fewest pass attempts for a winning quarterback in a game since Week 3 in 1974. Harris rushed 10 times for 111 yards and the long first quarter touchdown run, and Rhamondre Stevenson had 24 attempts for 78 yards. Harris left the game limping in the third quarter and didn’t return. Davon Godchaux had six total tackles, Phillips had five, and Hightower had four to lead the defense. Judon had his 14th sack and Lawrence Guy recovered an Allen fumble. Allen finished 15-30 for 145 yards passing with one touchdown in the loss, and also ran six times for 39 yards. Buffalo (7-5) was held to 99 rushing yards. Diggs had four catches for 51 yards, while Jordan Poyer and Harrison Phillips had five tackles each. New England is now 9-4, 7-1 against the AFC, taking a 1.5 game lead over the Bills in the division and currently have the top seed in the conference. The Patriots have a bye week in Week 14 and will return to action on Saturday, December 18 when they travel to Indianapolis to battle the Colts at 8:20 p.m.
