The Buffalo Bills have climbed a long way in just a year from the depths of the NFL to the league’s summit, as they have earned a trip to the postseason and have proven themselves enough to be mentioned among the best teams in the league. However, they have still been unable to knock off the king from the top of the hill.
The Bills’ woes against the New England Patriots continued on Saturday night as the Patriots outlasted a very good Bills’ team, 24-17, to clinch the AFC East for the 11th straight season.
There was no shame in losing this game for Buffalo as the Bills shook off a sluggish start to tie the game at 10 in a thrilling sequence before halftime that saw quarterback Josh Allen hit a deep ball to tight end Dawson Knox and throw a touchdown pass to offensive lineman Dion Dawkins.
They moved out to a 17-13 lead in the third quarter on a 53-yard Allen to receiver John Brown pass, the Bills’ longest play from scrimmage all season. The Bills held onto the lead well into the fourth quarter and found themselves just minutes away from a monumental victory. But as has happened so many times before in this rivalry, Tom Brady and the Patriots put together a drive to get into the end zone and take the lead for good.
With a chance to answer, Allen led a gutsy last-minute drive inside the New England 10, but the drive fizzled and Allen found himself chucking a desperation pass up for grabs into the end zone on 4th and goal from the 15 that was knocked away by J.C. Jackson.
The loss now makes the playoff picture clear for the Bills. They are locked into the No. 5 seed while New England takes the division. The Bills can now turn their attention to wild card weekend and their Week 17 matchup against the Jets is meaningless, which likely means plenty of backups in the Buffalo lineup.
Here are four things we learned as Buffalo fell to 10-5 and New England claimed another AFC East title: