The Bills fell to the New England Patriots 23-20 on Sunday night, handing them their first loss of the season.
The turnover battle and untimely penalties were Buffalo's Achilles' heel.
"[The Patriots] took care of the football," quarterback Josh Allen said. "We didn't."
When the Bills were down 13-10 in the third quarter, looking to reclaim the advantage on the scoreboard, the offense took a pass interference penalty that pushed it back 10 yards to the New England 19-yard-line. Allen's intended target was wide receiver Khalil Shakir near the 10-yard line, which would have minimized the effects of the previous penalty and kept the offensive momentum rolling. New England cornerback Marcus Jones got in the middle of the pass in front of Shakir, though, and handed Allen his second interception of the season.
"That's the biggest thing. In order to win games, you need to take care of the ball. So, we just need to be better at that," Shakir said. "Some days this week, as far as fundamental technique and all those things, just to [get] better at that for the next game."
Allen also fell victim to a fumble recovered by the Patriots. Off a snap in the first quarter, the quarterback dropped the ball after a light collision with TE Dawson Knox. Allen couldn't get on top of the ball and it was Patriots DT Joshua Farmer who came out with the possession.
"That's where I start. You got to take care of the football. You look at it, the stats, the numbers don't lie, right?" head coach Sean McDermott said after the game. "… You're negative two on the turnover differential. So, that's not a winning formula."
Wide receiver Keon Coleman, who was one of the two touchdown receivers of the night, also fumbled and lost the ball in the first quarter. If he held onto the ball, it would have been at least a three yard gain, but Patriots LB Robert Spillane punched the ball out and DB Jaylinn Hawkins finished the job with the recovery.
"[I] thought we beat ourselves. Turned the ball over three times, they get 10 points. We get one takeaway, don't get any points off it," McDermott said. "Just not enough complimentary football, just didn't seem like we were into a rhythm offensively enough. And when we did, we had penalties, self-inflicted wounds."
New England wasn't unaffected by the turnover battle. After Allen's miscue in the first quarter, Buffalo's defense came out with vengeance and hoped to get the offense back on the field as soon as possible. Quarterback Drake Maye completed a pass to Rhamondre Stevenson for seven yards at the Bills 40-yard-line, but Shaq Thompson and Matt Milano forced a fumble and captain Terrel Bernard recovered it.
The difference between Buffalo's turnovers and the Patriots', was that New England capitalized on the re-possession.
After Allen's interception in the third quarter, Maye went down the field, pass after pass. That same drive extended into the beginning of the fourth quarter and the Patriots converted the interception into a touchdown. Buffalo was already trailing 13-10 after New England answered its touchdown that opened the second half, and the Patriots extended that lead further to 20-10.
"Just shooting ourselves in the foot," Kincaid said. "Got to make those corrections and move forward."
The Bills also tied their record for most penalties in a game so far in 2025 with 11. Before Week 4, they were the least penalized team in the league.
Those 11 penalties accumulated 90 yards against Buffalo. Though New England also suffered in penalties with eight for 93 yards, Buffalo did not respond well to the lost yardage on offense. On defense, the Bills could not redeem themselves from the yardage given up to the Patriots and put up necessary stops.
"I thought our guys fought, they played hard. But this is one we need to learn from," McDermott said. "… You start with the fundamentals of winning football. Usually it's us taking the ball away three times to none. And in this case, it was the other way."
