4. Buffalo Bills
Wow, wow, wow…
How about that? The Buffalo Bills gave their response to the Patriots coming into Buffalo earlier this season and getting a decisive victory by going into New England and making a statement of their own.
It wasn’t a dominant win in terms of the final score by the Bills, but it was a statement, nonetheless. The Bills fought back after falling behind 21-0 early on in this game, and the Patriots were able to get past the Buffalo defense on multiple occasions. But it was that up-and-down Bills defense that came through in the end, stopping the Patriots’ offense and preventing a comeback attempt.
The Patriots were coming off of a bye in this one, so the way the Bills fought in this game is rather impressive. They are still a game behind the Patriots in the standings right now, but at 10-4 compared to New England’s 11-3, the race to that division title is officially on over these next three games.
3. New England Patriots
With the way the Patriots have played this entire season, you can’t drop them too far after a tough loss to a division rival as good as the Buffalo Bills. That was a hard-fought game, but if you’re a Patriots fan, it definitely felt like the perfect chance to see Drake Maye complete his first-ever comeback win in the NFL.
It didn’t happen.
There are going to be bigger games ahead for the Patriots, but this one was obviously extremely important. A win on Sunday would have put the Patriots at 12-2 and the Bills at 9-5, sealing the division title. A loss now leaves the door open more than just a crack for Allen and the Bills.
It’s concerning. There have been times this season where the Patriots have flirted with this kind of disaster, but they’ve been able to pull through. Not this time. We’ll see how they bounce back next week against the Ravens, who looked outstanding against the Bengals on Sunday.