Going into Week 16, the Bills knew they needed a win over the Patriots to keep their hopes alive of winning the AFC East and Josh Allen did his best to make sure that win happened.
In what was arguably his best performance of the year, the Bills quarterback put on an offensive show during an impressive 33-21 road win for Buffalo. With Allen running the offense to near perfection, the Patriots simply couldn’t figure out how to slow down a Bills team that didn’t punt a single time on nine possessions.
In the first meeting between these two teams, the Patriots got some defensive help from Mother Nature, who slowed down the Bills’ passing game with 70 mph winds. This time around, Mother Nature stayed at home on a day where the weather was nearly perfect and Allen took advantage of it by throwing for 314 yards and three touchdowns.
Buffalo’s first possession foreshadowed what the rest of the game was going to be like: The Bills moved the ball at will and that was mostly thanks to Allen. The Bills also proved on the opening drive that they were playing to win.
After Allen drove them 58 yards, the Bills faced a fourth-and-2 from the Patriots’ 3-yard line, and at that point, Sean McDermott didn’t even hesitate — he knew his team was going for it. Allen made the gamble pay off with a perfect strike to Isaiah McKenzie. The score below gave the Bills a 7-0 lead and they never trailed after that.
McKenzie was arguably the unsung hero of the game for Buffalo. With Cole Beasley out due to COVID, McKenizie stepped up and had one of the biggest games of his career with 11 catches for 125 yards.
As for Allen, he didn’t just do damage with his right arm in this game, he also hurt the Patriots with his legs. One of the biggest plays of the day came on a fourth-and-1 with just 4:27 left to play. With the Bills clinging to a 26-21 lead, McDermott once again decided to go for it and once again, Allen made the gamble pay off.
That conversion set up a TD pass to Dawson Knox just five plays later that ended up icing the game. Overall, Allen totaled 64 yards on the ground, which led the Bills.
This is a win that should give the Bills some confidence and that’s because they won big. As a matter of fact, the 12-point margin of victory makes the Bills the first team in 25 years to win by double digits at New England in consecutive seasons.
With the win, the Bills are now right where they want to be heading down the stretch: They control their own destiny. If they can win their final two games — against the Falcons and Jets — they’ll win the AFC East. And the best part for Buffalo is that both games are at home.
Alright, let’s get to the grades for every game from Week 16. If you’re looking for a deeper dive on Tennessee’s wild win over the 49ers that was played on Thursday, be sure to click here.
Buffalo 33-21 over New England
Bills-Patriots grades by Tyler Sullivan (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Green Bay 24-22 over Cleveland (Saturday)
Packers-Browns grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Indianapolis 22-16 over Arizona (Saturday)
Colts-Cardinals grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Atlanta 20-16 over Detroit
Lions-Falcons grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
N.Y. Jets 26-21 over Jacksonville
Jaguars-Jets grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Tampa Bay 32-6 over Carolina
Buccaneers-Panthers grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Houston 41-29 over L.A. Chargers
Chargers-Texans grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
L.A. Rams 30-23 over Minnesota
Rams-Vikings grades by Cody Benjamin (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Cincinnati 41-21 over Baltimore
Ravens-Bengals grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Philadelphia 34-10 over N.Y. Giants
Giants-Eagles grades by Jeff Kerr (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Chicago 25-24 over Seattle
Bears-Seahawks grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Las Vegas 17-13 over Denver
Broncos-Raiders grades by John Breech (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Kansas City 36-10 over Pittsburgh
Steelers-Chiefs grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
