The Bills defeated a chippy Patriots team 27-21 in Orchard Park on Sunday, extending their win streak to four straight contests.
Buffalo will head into next week’s regular-season finale against the Dolphins in Miami for the AFC Championship.
Sunday’s win could be the final AFC East meeting between defensive head coaches Sean McDermott and Bill Belichick, whose future with the Patriots organization is unclear.
And it was McDermott’s defense, for whom he is the primary play-caller, that shone, holding New England to only 294 total yards.
Buffalo caused four Patriots turnovers, including a pick-six by trade deadline acquisition CB Rasul Douglas.
Douglas tipped a pass by Patriots QB Bailey Zappe earlier in the game, which was then caught by teammate DT Ed Oliver for his first career interception, thanks to some single-handed acrobatics, before the cornerback reeled in two picks of his own.
All in the first half.
“That should have been another pick by me,” Douglas mused during his postgame media availability. “I should have had 3, honestly, cause I knew it was coming. I read it, but I was on the right side of the tight end and he kind of threw it to the left. So, I had to go around him and deflect it up and then I seen Ed diving for it, I was just happy that he caught it.”
Douglas has been a huge addition defensively in general, not to mention in the wake of another season-ending injury to CB Tre White.
“I don’t know what we gave up to get him… but we won the trade,” S Micah Hyde said about the Bills’ corner, per ABC 13 WHAM.
Hyde’s comments were backed by their head coach, who noted the team’s resilience.
“They’ve been very resilient. And just the things that they’ve learned, I think, through the journey that have gotten us to here and then using them week to week to find a way to win games,” McDermott said to the press. “Today we knew wasn’t going to be easy and I thought that their resilient nature was on display in the second half.”
New England’s defense was still stingy despite their offense’s shortcomings, but it was Buffalo’s defensive group that won the day. The offense will look to bounce back and the team will aim to keep rolling into the win column next week in Miami.
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