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Game Recap

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Bills 20, Patriots 23 | Final score, game recap + highlights

Location: Highmark Stadium

Final score: Bills 20, Patriots 23

Records: Bills (4-1), Patriots (3-2)

Next opponent: Bills at Falcons Monday, October 13 at 7:15 p.m. EST

Buffalo kicker Matt Prater kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the game 20-20 on Sunday night against the Patriots with 17 seconds before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.

The Bills defense needed a stop to get the offense back on the field, but New England came out strong with a 19-yard pass from quarterback Drake Maye to Kayshon Boutte. With a desperate effort to get the Patriots off the field, all Buffalo defenders headed straight toward Maye in attempts to sack him. He got away from most, but it was safety Cole Bishop who took down the second-year starter.

At that point, though, the Patriots were already in field goal position for kicker Andres Borregales to hit a 52-yard attempt and put New England on top again. With less than 20 seconds left, quarterback Josh Allen didn't have many options from his own 18-yard-line, and the Bills sustained their first loss of the season.

Take a look at the best photos from the Sunday night Rivalries matchup on Oct. 5 against the New England Patriots. This gallery is presented by Gabe's Collision.

Game Summary

The Bills came out hot in the second half, going 71 yards down the field in over six minutes to put the first touchdown on the board.

After a four-yard gain from running back James Cook III, Allen connected with tight end Dalton Kincaid for a 20-yard completion. Kincaid ended his night with six passes for 108 yards.

The pass put Buffalo in New England territory. As the offense neared the end zone with a seven-yard completion to Dawson Knox and an eight-yard pass to wide receiver Khalil Shakir, the Bills were in first-and-goal territory. Allen threw the ball away on the first down and bounced back with a short pass left to Curtis Samuel for a six-yard touchdown.

Fumbles and penalties plagued the first half of Sunday night. Both offenses struggled to keep their hands on the ball, which resulted in just three field goals being kicked to get points up on the board.

Buffalo's first drive of the game ended in a forced fumble by New England after a promising 20-yard gain on third-and-four from Kincaid on the previous play. After the snap, Allen bumped into Cook and dropped the ball on the ground. The Patriots' Joshua Farmer recovered it and put New England at the Buffalo 47-yard-line.

Shaq Thompson responded immediately for the Bills, forcing a fumble on the first play of the drive while Terrel Bernard finished it off with the recovery. Once Buffalo took the field, its drive was soon bruised by two illegal formation penalties that halted the Bills from capitalizing on the forced fumble from their defense.

In the second quarter, Buffalo evened out the score with a field goal. On third-and-three, Allen escaped trouble, but Shakir, who caught the lofted pass, was immediately brought down by the Patriots defense. He lost three yards on the play, with Prater coming to cut the deficit.

Though Buffalo was hoping to end the half on a high note, defensive penalties kept New England on the field and in position to take the lead. With one second left on the clock, Borregales hit a 19-yard field goal that put the Patriots up 6-3 heading into halftime.

With the three-point advantage, New England answered Buffalo's opening touchdown in the second half with one of its own, taking the lead again at 13-10.

Allen moved the offense down the field with the intention of putting his team back up again. A defensive, unnecessary roughness penalty at the Bills' 47-yard-line put them in Patriots territory. Allen connected with Kincaid again for a 17-yard gain.

After an offensive pass interference call, the Bills had to move backwards 10 yards to New England's 19-yard-line. Looking to eliminate the effects of the penalty, Allen attempted to connect with Shakir, but Marcus Jones came in between and intercepted the pass. The Patriots went on to convert the interception into a seven-yard touchdown claimed by Rhamondre Stevenson nearly three minutes into the fourth quarter.

Thompson came up big for the Bills again over halfway through the fourth quarter when they were down 20-17. Instead of allowing New England to extend its lead, the defense forced a third-and-one situation on the first set of downs. A false start on the offense pushed the Patriots back five yards and Thompson chased quarterback Drake Maye out of bounds and tallied a sack, forcing New England to punt.

Thompson posted four tackles and one sack for a loss of two yards on Sunday night.

Game Highlights

Key Stats and Facts

  • Bills sustain first loss of 2025 season.
  • Josh Allen is now 7-7 against New England.
  • Josh Allen posted more rushing yards (53) than James Cook (49).
  • Loss to New England broke consecutive home regular season win streak - a win would have tied the franchise record.
  • Loss broke consecutive win streak at home against New England.

Scoring plays

1st Quarter

BUF 0, NE 3 — A.Borregales 30-yard field goal is GOOD

2nd Quarter

BUF 3, NE 3 — M.Prater 31-yard field goal is GOOD

BUF 3, NE 6 — A.Borregales 19-yard field goal is GOOD

3rd Quarter

BUF 10, NE 6 — J.Allen pass short left to C.Samuel for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN. M.Prater extra point is GOOD

BUF 10, NE 13 — R.Stevenson left guard for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN. A.Borregales extra point is GOOD

4th Quarter

BUF 10, NE 20 — R.Stevenson left end for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN. A.Borregales extra point is GOOD

BUF 17, NE 20 — J.Allen pass short right to K.Coleman for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN. M.Prater extra point is GOOD

BUF 20, NE 20 — M.Prater 45-yard field goal is GOOD

BUF 20, NE 23 — A.Borregales 52-yard field goal is GOOD

FINAL

Milestone Watch

  • Bills tie a franchise record with 13 consecutive regular season games with a rushing touchdown – this is the Bills longest streak since 2016-17.
  • Josh Allen passed OJ Simpson for third-most touchdowns in Bills history.
  • Josh Allen is the fourth NFL QB with at least a 70 percent completion percentage and multiple touchdown passes in the first four home games of a season joining Matt Ryn (2018), Drew Brees (2011) and Kurt Warner (2008).
  • Josh Allen moves into second place on the team's all-time passing yards list, passing Joe Ferguson.

Scroll through the best fan photos from the Sunday night Rivalries matchup on Oct. 5 against the New England Patriots. This gallery is presented by SnapDragon Apples.

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