The Buffalo Bills completed one of the biggest comebacks in franchise history, beating New England and staying alive in the AFC East race.
The Buffalo Bills are still alive in the race for the AFC East. After falling behind 21-0 and looking like they were going to be run out of the building, the Bills staged one of the biggest comebacks in franchise history, beating the New England Patriots 35-31 on Sunday afternoon.
The win moves the Bills to 10-4 on the season, and a game behind the Patriots in the division. The win also keeps the team in the 6th seed in the AFC playoff race, tied with the Los Angeles Chargers for 5th.
It was a game that felt like a changing of the guard moment for the AFC East. Unfortunately for New England, the Bills were there to remind them that winning the division wasn't going to be easy.
Let's get into the positives and negatives of Buffalo's Week 15 win.
Positives
Ray Davis’ Kick Returns: The Bills may have found their number one kick returner in Ray Davis. The second year running back continued to have a strong showing returning kicks against the Patriots. In four returns, Davis had 161 total yards, including a 58-yard return to start the third quarter that set up a Bills touchdown.
Dawson Knox Breaks Record: Dawson Knox continued his run of strong play with two more touchdowns on Sunday afternoon. With those two scores, Knox now owns the record for most touchdowns by a tight end in Franchise history with 26. He passed the legendary Pete Metzelaars, who had 25.
Josh Allen: I’m running out of things to say about Josh Allen. With another three touchdowns, Allen surpassed 35 offensive touchdowns for the sixth time in his career. Only Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have more with seven. He finished with 193 yards and three touchdowns passing while adding 51 yards on the ground.
James Cook: In Week 5, James Cook was held to 49 yards on 15 carries. In Week 15, he had a performance that fans have come to expect from the fourth-year back. Cook had 107 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries while also adding a touchdown reception to his stat sheet. He’s now up to 12 total touchdowns on the year and continued to close the gap in the race to be the NFL’s top rusher.
The Comeback: At 21-0, it felt like the game was over, but, as has been the case so many times, the Bills failed to roll over. After falling behind by three touchdowns, the Bills scored 28 of the next 31 points in the game to take a 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter. The Patriots quickly took the lead back, but the offense kept rolling with another touchdown for the final score of the game.
The defense came up late with back-to-back stops, and Buffalo leaves New England with their biggest win of the season. It's tied for the 3rd largest comeback in franchise history.
Negatives
Bills First Half: I won’t put it on just the offense or the defense, it was the entire first half performance by the Bills. They looked completely outclassed from the start, and couldn’t find an answer for Drake Maye or even the Patriots defense. At the end of the first half, Buffalo had just 76 total yards compared to New England's 285.
Bills Run Defense: In week five, Buffalo held New England to just 71 yards rushing. The Patriots passed that mark midway through the second quarter. The Patriots had 177 rushing yards in the first half.
It didn’t get better after that, either. The Patriots finished with 246 rushing yards on the day. Oh, and the 23 rushing touchdowns allowed is the most a Sean McDermott-coached team has ever given up. It’s also the most allowed in the NFL this season.
Keon Coleman: When the Bills announced that Keon Coleman was going to be dressed instead of Gabe Davis, it was met with questions by media and fans alike. Some thought this meant that there was a plan for Coleman to be featured in the offense. Well, that didn’t happen. Coleman was targeted once against New England, but the play, technically, didn’t count as New England was called for what was, admittedly, a ticky-tack pass interference. It was a catch, though, that Coleman has to make.
Joe Brady's Love Of Screen Passes: There's a time and place to call a screen pass. Third and 15 when down 14 isn't it. It was a mostly positive day for Brady's playcalling, but that was a pretty big blunder.
Sean McDermott's First Half Coaching: When I say the first half was bad, it was bad across the board. McDermott chose to punt twice inside New England territory, and a failure to challenge what looked like a bobbled catch on the Patriots' first drive allowed New England to score.