Patriots Beat Bills, Move to the Top of the AFC Standings

Pro football teams rely on the passing game a lot these days, but the New England Patriots decided against that in their Monday Night Football game at Buffalo on December 6th. With cold, high winds blowing across the stadium, the Patriots’ quarterback Mac Jones attempted just three passes in the entire game, completing two of them for 19 yards. Instead, New England ran the ball 46 times for 222 yards and beat the Bills 14-10.

New England scored first on a 64 yard run by Damien Harris, and Brandon Bolden ran in the two point conversion for a 8-0 1st quarter lead. Buffalo scored on a 14 yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen to Gabriel Davis one play after New England fumbled a punt return. The Patriots scored twice more on Nick Folk field goals in the 2nd and 4th quarters, and Buffalo’s Tyler Bass kicked one in the third. The wind was at the kickers’ back in all three cases.

Here’s some highlights of the game.

New England improved to 9-4 which is the best record in the AFC. Buffalo was supposed to win this division with the Patriots supposedly in rebuilding mode, but things are moving ahead of schedule in New England. The Bills are now 7-5, and may have to settle for a Wild Card if they can get it; there are a lot of teams that are 6-6 to 7-5 or 7-6 in second or third place in their divisions, and Buffalo is the 7th seed as it stands now. The Bills will play at New England on December 26th, but have a rough one on the road at Tampa Bay next on December 12th.