The Buffalo Bills officially control their own fate in the AFC East. The New England Patriots did not come to town in Week 8 leading the division. They aren’t even in second place.
Still, after you dominate the AFC East for nearly two decades, there’s always that thought in the back of your mind. But following a 24-21 win to bring the Bills to 6-2 on the season and drop the Patriots to 2-5, that’s not the case anymore. The Pats hopes for a divisional crown are essentially dead now.
With that, here are five takeaways from the Bills’ win over the Patriots in Week 8:
Game-saving Zimmer
The Bills were saved by Justin Zimmer in this one, no doubt about it.
In a game that was much closer than it needed to be, Zimmer cemented his place on the Bills roster for awhile. As time was expiring, Patriots quarterback Cam Newton was leading a drive that appeared destined to end with points, but then the defensive tackle knocked the ball and game out of Newton’s hand. On a carry to the left side of the field where the Pats ran a couple of rushes in a row, Zimmer tackled Newton from behind and knocked the ball out, forcing a fumble. Safety Dean Marlowe then scooped up the ball with 30 seconds left and Buffalo iced the game from there.
Had the game gone to overtime, much of the momentum would have been with the Patriots. Plus there’s that whole coin-flip thing… in the most literal sense. The NFL’s overtime is dumb. If the Pats win a coin toss, they could’ve won the game. Instead, the Bills took the win in regulation and completed their stranglehold on the AFC East by topping the Patriots.