1. Players are motivated to go 1-0 every week
Buffalo aims to go 1-0 every week they play and haven't started to look toward the playoffs just yet. The division was still in play heading into New England and the Bills wanted to leave victorious. Unfortunately, they came up just short.
"To just win, whether it was the Patriots or the Jets it was that make the next game for us," Dion Dawkins said. "We have our foot on the gas and we're not taking it off. We just want to get a win every week and we like winning."
Micah Hyde had a similar message to share after the game.
"It was a tight game late in December, playing a very good football team on the road," Hyde said. "You have to understand it was going to be tight going into the fourth quarter. We knew that was going to happen. We don't take pride in losing by seven though. We go out there and try to win every ball game we can. We made a lot of plays in this game but also gave up some things, so we go back and try to correct things and get on to the next game."
The Bills are now locked into the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs and need to wait until the end of Week 17 is to see who their opponent will be during the first round.
2. Josh Allen hit these milestones in Week 16
Josh Allen didn't finish with eye-popping numbers in the loss to the Patriots, but he did hit a couple of significant milestones with his performance.
Allen has now accounted for a touchdown in 21 consecutive games, marking a new franchise record. He surpassed Doug Flutie's 20-game streak from 1998-99. Allen has also accounted for 29 total touchdowns this season. It is the second-most in a season in team history trailing only Jim Kelly's 34 in 1991.
"It's football. I don't really think of it any differently or where I'm at, or what I've been through," Allen said. "Every game that I've been in has been a valuable learning experience for me and to be in this one – again, obviously we wanted to win it. That's our goal each and every week. But that was some valuable experience I got to learn from and grow from today."
Allen also passed the 5,000 career passing yardage mark in his 27th game. He is now the third quarterback in NFL history with 5,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in 30 games or less joining Cam Newton (23) and Robert Griffin III (22).
3. The Bills value winning not learning experiences after a tough loss
The Bills are going to watch film from Sunday's game and correct their mistakes. Micah Hyde knows what kind of team the Buffalo Bills are after playing 15 games and the focus can no longer be on their identity. It's on winning.
"I understand what this team is about," Hyde said. "I'm not learning anything new from all the games we've played already. You understand what type of football team you are. We wanted to go out here on the road against a great opponent and win the game. It's as simple as that. We're not here trying to learn about this team anymore. We're out here trying to win."
Trent Murphy knows there is still more to show from the team.
"Really, there is just room for improvement and we need keep working hard and keep pushing and find a way to play our best ball when it matters on game day," Murphy said. "I think we are doing the right things in practice. It is flashing in games, but we just have to do be able it for four quarters. There is more in there, we just have to find a way to bring it forward."
