Winners and losers from Patriots’ gusty win over the Bills in Week 16

Tom Brady finally started to get some momentum in the passing game.

Here are the winners and losers from the New England Patriots’ 24-17 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

The Patriots have clinched the AFC East, and will spend Week 17 attempting to hold off the Miami Dolphins, so that New England can retain their No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.

Winner: Tom Brady, QB

Brady led a 17-play, 81-yard drive, which spanned over 8 minutes and 58 seconds. The drive started on that 1-yard line. While the drive concluded with a field goal, it was representative of Brady’s best self in 2019. He spread the ball around, but favored Julian Edelman. The quarterback’s patience and accuracy were New England’s biggest asset. The offense was a flashback to what they did best in the early 2000s: death with a thousand incisions — which requires great precision.

That hasn’t come together in previous games — it did on Saturday night. Brady finished 26 of 33 for 271 yards and one touchdown.

Loser (until he proved a winner): Rex Burkhead, RB

His fumble on the Patriots’ opening drive felt like a significant swing in points. The Bills turned around and scored on a field goal. But New England was moving the ball well, and looked poised to score at least three points. The turnover was a momentum changer.

Then the script flipped completely on Burkhead.

He was reliable after that, with five carries for 20 yards and a touchdown with four catches for 77 yards on the game. He and the Patriots offensive line did well running screen passes, which helped him finish with the most receiving yards for New England. But Burkhead’s most impressive play of the game came on 1-yarder. Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander hammered Burkhead, who somehow stayed upright and managed to make his way into the end zone.

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