Patriots upset Bills in 23-20 win

Doug Kyed, Boston Herald on Oct 5, 2025

Published in Football

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – A return to relevance.

That’s what a 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills, on the road in a hostile environment at Highmark Stadium in primetime on national television on “Sunday Night Football” represented for the New England Patriots.

For the first time in years, the Patriots matter. They’re 3-2 and just beat the Super Bowl favorites in their home stadium.

It was also young quarterback Drake Maye’s first career game-winning drive, and it couldn’t have come in a more important moment, outdueling the league’s top quarterback and avoiding turnovers as the opposing fans matched the Bills in all-white attire.

Tied 20-20 with just over two minutes left on the clock, the Patriots drove 37 yards on seven plays before rookie kicker Andy Borregales nailed a 52-yard field goal. The play that will be remembered came first, with Maye being dragged to the turf and somehow getting the pass off to wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who looked like the best player on the field against his former team, for a 12-yard gain.

The Bills won the coin toss to start the night but elected to defer, giving the Patriots the ball. After a long 15-yard gain from Diggs on the first play of the game, the Patriots couldn’t gain another first down and were forced to punt.

The Bills were driving down the field before a botched handoff led to a fumble, which Patriots rookie defensive tackle Joshua Farmer quickly jumped on for the recovery.

On the Patriots’ very next snap, Maye completed a 7-yard pass to Rhamondre Stevenson, but he had the ball punched out for his third fumble of the season. The defense bailed out Stevenson by forcing another punt with a fantastic third-down pass breakup from cornerback Marcus Jones over much taller wide receiver Keon Coleman.

Stevenson was immediately replaced by Antonio Gibson, but he did come back onto the field later in the Patriots’ fourth offensive drive, which ultimately ended with another punt.

After a penalty pushed the Bills back to their own 7-yard line, Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane caused Coleman to fumble. It was recovered by safety Jaylin Hawkins for the Patriots’ second takeaway of the game. The Patriots couldn’t gain a first down, but Borregales hit a 30-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

The Patriots’ defense bent but didn’t break and forced a 31-yard field goal from veteran kicker Matt Prater. Prater’s field goal was good, tying the score at 3-3.

After the Patriots punted again, defensive tackle Milton Williams forced the Bills to punt with a key third-down sack.

The Patriots drove down the field with the help of some Bills penalties. With 4 seconds remaining in the half and at the Bills’ 1-yard line, Maye targeted Hunter Henry for a touchdown, but the veteran tight end wasn’t ready for the ball. With 1 second left, they settled for a field goal to take a 6-3 lead into the half.

The self-inflicted errors subsided for the Bills to start the second half as they drove 71 yards down the field for a touchdown on a 6-yard pass from QB Josh Allen to wide receiver Curtis Samuel to take a 10-6 lead.

The Patriots responded with authority on a five-play, 74-yard drive with two long completions from Maye to Diggs. Stevenson plowed forward for a short touchdown run, and the Patriots took a 13-10 lead.

The Bills got down into the red zone on a 52-yard drive, before Jones made a diving interception on a target over the middle to Khalil Shakir.

Maye and the Patriots’ offense then marched 90 yards down the field on 10 plays with Diggs accounting for 52 yards. Stevenson scored on a rushing attempt from 7 yards out to put the Patriots ahead 20-10.

Allen hit Coleman in the end zone for his second passing touchdown of the day to cut the Patriots’ lead to 20-17. Back-to-back personal foul penalties on Patriots defensive tackles Cory Durden and Joshua Farmer were costly.

Speaking of costly penalties, Patriots offensive tackle Vederian Lowe was flagged for a false start on third-and-1, pushing the Patriots back before a Maye sack. The Patriots punted to the Bills and, once again, New England bent but didn’t break to allow a field goal, netting the score at 20-20. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez forced the field goal with a massive third-down pass breakup.

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