Instant analysis from Patriots’ 24-21 loss to Bills

Frigid temperatures awaited the New England Patriots. So did the AFC East champions since 2020.

The Buffalo Bills outlasted an upset by a score of 24-21 Sunday at Highmark Stadium.

Here’s a glance back on what transpired there as head coach Jerod Mayo’s side returns home with a 3-12 record.

Tale of two halves for an aggressive Maye

It was 14 degrees at kickoff in Orchard Park. And in long sleeves, Drake Maye was warm, aggressive and exactly where he needed to be early. But the rookie quarterback finished 22-of-36 passing for 260 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and a lost fumble in his inaugural meeting with the Bills.

Breaking the huddle in “11” personnel, the Patriots opened Sunday with a third-and-8 conversion against the blitz. A drop in the bucket from 28 yards away followed to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, getting on the board versus tight coverage and single safety hovering high. The next series spanned 16 plays, 91 net yards and ended in the end zone for a 14-0 lead. It’d trim and a three-and-out was the result. At the half, however, a 110.2 quarterback rating had been maintained.

Soon facing a 17-14 deficit out of the break, Maye was intercepted in the end zone by free safety Cam Lewis while looking for tight end Austin Hooper, derailing a drive that brought a trio of first downs. Then things snowballed. A backwards pass rolled toward the doorstep as cornerback Taron Johnson was there to fall on it for points. By the time the visitors returned to the end zone, 1:13 was left to tick. The divisional bout saw the No. 3 overall pick out of the University of North Carolina add 31 yards on the ground across six carries. Designed runs were among them under embattled offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

Stevenson logs eighth touchdown, seventh fumble

Buffalo’s run defense entered the weekend allowing 4.7 yards per carry on the campaign. It would be up to New England’s backfield to match that clip.

Rhamondre Stevenson turned a dozen handoffs into 60 yards on Sunday, including decisive, downhill longs of 14 and 14. His eighth touchdown of the campaign, which extended the starter’s career high, arrived along the way. So did defensive pass interference deep down the right sideline as well his seventh fumble of the campaign. The latter call gave Buffalo the ball in a 14-14 game. A field goal would come of it. Later, he was the intended recipient of the behind-the-line ball that stayed alive to make it 24-14.

Antonio Gibson spelled in quickly and finished with 36 yards from scrimmage across 12 touches. The March signing returned the opening kickoff for 42 yards, too. After ruling out veteran JaMycal Hasty with an ankle issue on the final injury report, the Patriots signed undrafted rookie Terrell Jennings to the 53-man roster on the eve of the 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff.

Strange back in uniform, but offensive line keeps its combo

The ninth starting combination of the season remained on Sunday.

New England’s offensive line included Vederian Lowe at left tackle, Layden Robinson at left guard, Ben Brown at center, Mike Onwenu at right guard and Demontrey Jacobs with an early false start at right tackle. But Buffalo’s defense finished with a single sack worth negative yardage, and it was set up by a fumbled shotgun snap at the goal line in the fourth quarter.

Former No. 29 overall pick Cole Strange, who saw his 2023 season end with a torn patellar tendon, dressed after going to the inactives last week. In turn, interior linemen Lecitus Smith and Tyrese Robinson became healthy scratches while November waiver claim Lester Cotton became an eligible reporter. Rookie offensive tackle Caedan Wallace stayed on injured reserve after recently having his 21-day practice window open.

Waiting out an out-of-rhythm Allen

The MVP frontrunner had hit 700 passing yards, 150 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns and no turnovers over his last pair of starts. That train slowed on Sunday. Josh Allen went 16-of-29 passing with one touchdown and one interception. The Bills quarterback found 154 yards by air and 30 yards by ground.

His side held possession for just 2:48 in the first quarter. Often forced to hold the football against a mush rush and man-to-man coverage, the Patriots registered one sack on the 6-foot-5, 237-pounder, who was seen flexing his right hand in the final frame.

The starting secondary included Pro Bowl contender Christian Gonzalez and 2023 Bills draft choice Alex Austin at cornerback. They were joined at safety by Kyle Dugger, Jaylinn Hawkins and hybrid linebacker Marte Mapu. The recent healthy scratch returned to the lineup with Jabrill Peppers going from questionable to inactive 90 minutes prior to kickoff. A pass breakup and an interception on a deep shot in the end zone followed, yet a touchback did not.

Cook slashes through Patriots’ run defense for 100 yards, scores twice

A week removed from allowing 31 carries to turn into 164 yards and a pair of visits to the end zone against the Arizona Cardinals, it was on to a rushing attack ranked atop the league in both touchdowns and conversion rate for first downs.

James Cook rushed for 100 yards across 11 attempts on Sunday for the Bills. The sudden starter had a breakaway of 46 along the way, going from outside zone to the end zone through a sea of Patriots caught out of position. Out of halftime, he tacked on a run of 25 and then a touchdown reception at the goal line to tie the tilt at 14-14. Powerful change of paces in Ray Davis and Ty Johnson combined for double-digit carries.

New England hit the field in the base 3-4. Up front resided Anfernee Jennings and Keion White off the edges. Daniel Ekuale, Davon Godchaux and a sacking Jeremiah Pharms Jr. occupied the starting interior. Two punch-outs by the defense went unrecovered.

Henry turns the clock back to 2019, resetting career high

Hunter Henry stood just 18 receiving yards away from resetting his career high from 2019 with the Los Angeles Chargers. The distance got closer on the game’s initial third down. And by the 5:49 mark in the initial quarter, the tight end, team captain and target leader had it in hand.

The chains kept moving from there. He now finds himself with 674 yards on a season that has included 66 catches and counting, which also checks in a milestone for the former John Mackey Award winner.

Henry was flagged for holding on a designed quarterback run in the second quarter. The 30-year-old answered back with a touchdown to make it 24-21 in the closing seconds.

Boutte paces wide receiver room of six

Six wide receivers were in uniform at Highmark Stadium. An aforementioned one found the end zone while there.

Boutte caught a handful of passes for a career-best 95 yards on Sunday. The second touchdown of his tenure came on a third-and-4 go route. The LSU product later picked up 31 as intermission hit and slid in to grab 22 more off the turf heading out of it. Kendrick Bourne started alongside him. Also getting the nod in the slot was DeMario Douglas, who twice garnered defensive pass interference and as well as four receptions for 33 yards and a score that did not hold up upon review.

Rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker combined for a single target while veteran Alex Erickson served as a standard elevation from the practice squad. The midweek addition stood deep on punts with 2022 first-team All-Pro returner Marcus Jones out due to a hip issue.

Special teams check-in

Four missed field goals had surfaced over the previous three outings for Joey Slye. In the elements on Sunday, the Patriots kicker wasn’t turned to for more than three converted extra points.

Holder Bryce Baringer, though, punted three times for an average of 44.3 yards per. And down 10, the sophomore specialist was called upon from his own 45 on fourth-and-6 with 8:33 remaining in the game.

He hadn’t been with 3:59 to go before halftime, when New England dialed up a direct snap to undrafted safety and upback Dell Pettus instead. That fake moved the sticks on fourth-and-1 in the shadow of the uprights.

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