Patriots Fall to Bills 27-21: All Updates From Week 17
Spoiler alert.
The New England Patriots will have one last chance to throw a wrench into the AFC playoff bracket as they look to complete what would be a surprising sweep of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium (1 p.m. ET, CBS). New England previously earned a 29-25 victory over the Bills back on Oct. 22.
Though long removed from the AFC playoff picture, the Patriots (4-11) have had an unusual influence on its formation: they've earned victories in two of their past three games against teams fighting for postseason real estate, including a 26-23 showcase in the Rockies last weekend against the Denver Broncos. All but 10 of the game's points were scored in the second half, which ended in a very merry fashion: Chad Ryland provided a special Christmas gift in the form of special teams reassurance, which sailed through the uprights from a career-long 56 yards away in the final seconds. New England had previously topped the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks prior.
Taking down surging Buffalo (9-6) will prove a bit more difficult: left for dead after standing at 6-6 to close November, the Bills have won three in a row and are very much alive for the AFC East crown (especially with Miami facing conference-leading Baltimore). Last weekend saw the Bills eke by the Los Angeles Chargers 24-22.
Though it had lost the prior four meetings prior to October's victory, the Patriots lead the all-time series with the Bills 78-49-1. They're looking for their first sweep of the Bills of the post-Tom Brady era, the last coming during his final season in 2019.
Live updates will commence after kickoff
Pregame
NE INACTIVES: WR Kayshon Boutte, OT Trent Brown, RB Jamycal Hasty, TE Hunter Henry, SS Jabrill Peppers, DE Sam Roberts, QB Nathan Rourke (emergency quarterback)
BUF INACTIVES: OL Alec Anderson, S Kaiir Elam, S Damar Hamlin, LB Von Miller, DL Linval Joseph
GAMETIME WEATHER: Cloudy, 35 degrees, WSW wind at 3 MPH, 15 percent chance of precipitation
1st Quarter
New England starts the game off with the ball. Jalen Reagor takes the opening kickoff back 98 yards for a scores, giving the Patriots the early lead. Chad Ryland's extra point is good. 14:48 to go in the 1st, Patriots 7, Bills 0
14:48-DRIVE BEGINS AT BUF 25 The drive immediately gets off to a good start for New England, as Deatrich Wise takes down Josh Allen for a 10-yard loss. A 19-yard scramble gets most of the yardage back, but they're unable to press further. Sam Martin's punt goes 53 yards and is fair caught by Myles Bryant at his own 18.
13:06-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 18 New England's first play from scrimmage proves disastrous, as Bailey Zappe's pass is tipped by Rasul Douglas and intercepted by Ed Oliver. The play is reviewed but upheld.
13:00-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 21 The Patriots' defense holds relatively strong, forcing the Bills into a three-and-out. Tyler Bass' field goal is good, narrowing the gap to 7-3. 12:07 to go in the 1st, Patriots 7, Bills 3
12:07-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 22 Reagor takes the kickoff back to the 22. Elliott picks up five yards on two plays but Zappe's pass to Mike Gesicki goes wide. Bryce Baringer. The punt goes 57 yards and Deonte Hardy takes it back 11 yards.
10:20-DRIVE BEGINS AT BUF 27 James Cook picks up 11 yards on two rushes, picking up a fresh set of downs. The pressure, however, gets to Allen, who throws three consecutive incompletions, the pass rush led by Keion White. Martin's punt goes 48 yards and is returned two yards by Bryant.
8:41-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 16 Another Zappe pass is intercepted by Douglas at the 24, which is taken back to the New England 14.
8:34-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 14 Runs by Cook and Stefon Diggs create a first-and-goal scenario at the New England 3. One second down from the 1, Allen punches it in for a touchdown. Tyler Bass' extra point is good. 6:37 to go in the 1st, Bills 10, Patriots 7
6:37-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 25 Bass' kickoff is a touchback. Zappe's short pass to Pharaoh Brown is fumbled, forced, and recovered by Christan Benford at the 30.
5:45-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 30 Rushes by Cook and Allen net a dozen and a new set of downs in the red zone. Allen's lateral to Khalil Shakir sets up a goal-to-go situation. Buffalo, however, is unable to get any further, leading to a short field goal from Bass from 24 yards away. 2:16 to go in the 1st, Bills 13, Patriots 7
2:16-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 25 Bass' kickoff is a touchback. Another three-and-out awaits, the drive ending with Oliver's sack of Zappe. Bryce Baringer's punt goes 47 yards and is fair caught by Harty at his 35.
0:54-DRIVE BEGINS AT BUF 35 The drive opens with an incomplete pass to Dawson Knox but Jalen Mills is flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. Allen finds Dalton Kincaid for four yards but two incompletions follow. Martin's punt goes 41 yards and is downed at the New England 5.
0:04-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 5 Kevin Harris' first carry of the day goes 15 yards as the first quarter ends. Harris is stopped
2nd Quarter
15:00-DRIVE CONTINUES AT NE 20 Harris is stopped for no gain but Zappe finds DeVante Parker for 15 yards. The drive momentum is stalled when Zappe's third interception of the is taken back by Douglas for a 40-yard touchdown, extending the game to two possessions. Bass' extra point is good. 12:36 to go in the 2nd, Bills 20, Patriots 7
12:36-DRIVE BEINGS AT NE 25 Bass' ensuing kickoff is a touchback. Two Ezekiel Elliott runs get four yards and Zappe gets a first down on a six-yard throw to Harris. Harris was originally ruled to have fumbled, but the play was reversed by replay review. Harris later gets the Patriots in the red zone on a 48-yard rush before Zappe scrambles for a 17-yard touchdown that narrows the gap to one possession. Ryland's extra point is good. 9:44 to go in the 2nd, Bills 20, Patriots 14
9:44-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 18 Allen's first play from scrimmage is a 14-yard throw to Kincaid. On a seven-yard third down, Allen finds Shakir for eight. Allen gets into New England territory on a six-yard carry on another short third down. Another first down is immediately earned on an 11-yard throw to Diggs. though it's wiped out due to holding on Shakir. On 1st-and-16, Allen's next throw is intercepted by New England's Alex Austin at the Patriots' 11, giving them the ball back.
5:43-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 11 After a two-yard run by Elliott, the Patriots get back-to-back first downs on a Tyquan Thornton for 14 and a Zappe rush for 18. They get deeper into Buffalo territory on a 15-yard tally to Demario Douglas. But Elliott is stopped for no gain and Zappe's throw to Douglas is incomplete as the two-minute warning hits. Zappe finds Mike Gesicki for three yards to no avail, leading Buffalo to call its first timeout. Ryland's 47-yard field goal goes wide left and is no good.
1:49-DRIVE BEGINS AT BUF 37 Allen finds Diggs for eight but two incompletions follow. As they ponder what to do on fourth down, they call their second timeout. They opt to punt and Martin goes 47 yards. It's downed at the New England 8.
1:05-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 8 Zappe runs short and kneels, leading into the halftime
3rd Quarter
15:00-DRIVE BEGINS AT BUF 25 Ryland's kickoff is a touchback. Though Cook is stopped for a four-yard loss on the opening play, Allen gets it all back and then some with a 15-yard throw to Gabe Davis. They get into New England territory on a 51-yard throw to Kincaid and Allen punches it in from a yard away to re-establish a two-possession lead. Bass' extra point is good. 10:42 to go in the 3rd, Bills 27, Patriots 14
10:42-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 25 Bass' kickoff is a touchback. After Elliott loses one, Zappe finds Gesicki and Douglas for a combined 16. Terrell Bernard sacks Zappe to create a nine-yard third down, but Zappe finds Gesicki to get into Buffalo territory at 14 yards to the 45. Bernard pushes the Pats back with another five-yard sack. The Patriots only get to the 34 on a six-yard pass to Thornton. Lining up for a field goal, the Patriots are flagged five for delay of game. With the extra five attached, Baringer punts 27 yards. It's fair caught by Harty at his 12.
3:01-DRIVE BEGINS AT NE 12 The Bills are pushed back on a five-yard false start charge on Kincaid but he makes up for it with an 18-yard reception on third-and-a dozen. As Cook picks up eight, Jahlani Tavai is injured but walks off. The third quarter ends with a one-yard for Cook, making it third-and-one when the final period resumes.
4th Quarter
15:00-DRIVE CONTINUES AT BUF 37 Latavius Murray is stopped for no gain and Buffalo opts to punt. The Martin boot is fair caught by Bryant at his 16.
14:10-DRIVE STARTS AT NE 16 Three rushes, two for Elliott, one for Douglas, pick up 11 and a first down. Zappe then finds Jalen Reagor for 39 yards into Buffalo territory. Zappe finds Douglas for 17 and the Patriots get a little extra on an unnecessary roughness call against Jordan Poyer. Elliott gets the last six yards and scores six, with Ryland's extra point good. 11:01 to go in the 4th, Bills 27, Patriots 21
11:01-DRIVE STARTS AT BUF 14 Ryland's kickoff is returned to the Buffalo 25, but Reggie Gilliam is charged with a holiding penalty that pushes them back 10 yards from the spot of the foul. But Allen gets 18 on a throw to Shakir. On third-and-five from the Buffalo 45, Allen loses from a fumble from Kyle Dugger, but O'Cyrus Torrence recovers. Punting from their own 44, Martin boots a 53-yarder that goes to the New England 3.
6:41-DRIVE START AT NE 3 An Elliott run and a throw to Thornton but no more. Harty takes a 45-yard punt seven yards to the New England 49.
5:02-DRIVE STARTS AT NE 49 The Patriots limit them to three yards on the first two plays but Allen finds Shakir for 11. After Cook goes for no gain, New England calls its first timeout at 2:47. Allen then finds Diggs for nine yards, after which he's pushed out of bounds. Buffalo calls timeout before 3rd-and-1. Allen gets the first down via quarterback sneak. Patriots call their second timeout with 2:34 remaining. Ty Johnson goes for six yards before the Patriots call their last timeout at 2:27. Johnson punches it for one yard, setting up 3rd-and-3 at the Patriots 16 after the two-minute warning. A four-yard run for Allen should more or less seal the deal for Buffalo. Allen kneeldowns seal the deal
