From the Locker Room

Presented by

'You can't score 21 points in one play' | The Bills react to another explosive second half in Week 15

Dec 14, 2025 at 07:46 PM

Sydney Ciano

Seasonal writing associate

The Buffalo Bills postponed any AFC East celebrations on Sunday from the Patriots with a 35-31 win at Gillette Stadium.

Buffalo previously lost to New England 10 weeks ago in Week 5, and the Patriots were on a 10-game win streak heading into Week 15. A win would have been a hats and T-shirts game for New England, clinching the division. While it seemed like that was underway for the first two quarters, the Bills bounced back and defended the division for at least one more week.

Here's what the players' reactions to Sunday's contest were:

Second half comeback makes history at Gillette Stadium

Buffalo had just seven points on the board at halftime, down 21 points to New England. Right out of the gate, the Bills started their second half surge. From their last drive in the first half through the fourth quarter, they capitalized on nearly every opportunity and put 35 points up on the board.

Like in Week 14, Buffalo didn't claim its first lead until the fourth quarter. Unlike its game against Cincinnati, though, the team was down 21 points at one point, held scoreless by the Patriots until the end of the second quarter. Slowly, the Bills chipped away at their deficit to redeem themselves.

"Just keep your head up," tight end Dawson Knox said. "We're not riding the wave, doing everything one play at a time … You can't score 21 points in one play, you can't score 21 points in one drive. There's a lot of football left."

Related Links

According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, this is the largest comeback win in Gillette Stadium by a visitor in history.

While quarterback Josh Allen and his offense are the ones who racked the points one touchdown at a time, Buffalo's defense came up with crucial stops. The only score given up in the second half by the Bills was a 65-yard touchdown run from running back TreVeyon Henderson. This score put New England back in the lead after Buffalo just went up 28-24, but just how the Bills' lead didn't last long, neither did the Patriots'.

"I just don't think there's any quit in this team. We've proved that a few games this year that you just have to keep fighting," defensive end Joey Bosa said. "As a defense, we knew we just needed to make a few stops, and we came out hungry in the second half to prove that we could do that."

Buffalo’s 21-point comeback win is the largest by a visiting team in the history of Gillette Stadium. pic.twitter.com/RQL9AekTGk
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) December 14, 2025

Exploiting New England's weakness

The Patriots entered Sunday's matchup last in defensive red zone efficiency, allowing teams to score 73.1 percent of the time. On the flip side, Buffalo was ninth in the league on offensive red zone efficiency, scoring 61.7 percent of the time.

On Sunday, that mismatched strength was evident once the Bills got themselves down the field.

"We're going to continue to fight one play at a time, no matter what the score is," Allen said. "If it's in the third quarter, it's in the fourth quarter, whatever it is. We've got a chance and we got the ball."

Buffalo had five consecutive touchdown-scoring drives. Each of their touchdowns were scored from inside the New England 20-yard-line, the furthest 14 yards away from the end zone. The other four non-scoring series, excluding the game-ending drive, the Bills either didn't enter Patriots territory at all or barely did so.

"Beating a divisional opponent, on the road, against an incredibly talented team," Knox said. "We know very well we might see them again in the playoffs, whether it's here or there or back in Buffalo. Winning the division is huge and winning this game was a huge part in hopes of doing that later."

Dawson Knox taps into a new strength and sets records

"Dawson Knox, what a week, holy smokes," head coach Sean McDermott said. "Having a new baby, he and his wife, congratulations to them, and then two touchdowns today; and setting the record for Buffalo Bills all-time leading touchdown receptions as a tight end. Great award, great honor and great leader as well for our football team."

Knox caught the lead-changing touchdown pass in the fourth quarter on third-and-goal. Allen initially ran into the end zone on the previous play, but an offensive holding penalty nullified the four-yard rushing score. Before that, Allen tried connecting with Knox for the touchdown, but the pass was batted down.

Now 14 yards away, Allen stepped up and quickly found Knox in the end zone. The tight end wrapped around the back of his defender to separate and caught the pass sent straight out to him. Rather than spiking the ball in celebration of the score and the first lead on Sunday, Knox cradled the ball surrounded by his teammates in the end zone.

"It's hard not to be in awe of [Allen]," Knox said. "That throw, man, it was on me in a second. It was like a 90-mile per hour fastball, and he put it in the perfect place."

Opening the second half, Allen scrambled for 20 yards and put the Bills at the Patriots' six-yard-line. On the first attempt into the end zone, running back Ty Johnson was stopped two yards into his run. Faking the handoff on the next play, Knox shoved off his defender and ran along the goal line ready for Allen's pass. After catching the ball, he dove backwards, crossing the plane and starting Buffalo off on the right foot in the third quarter.

"This game could've gone either way, and thankfully we were able to make the plays that came to us," Knox said.