For the first time this century, the Buffalo Bills can put the New England Patriots in the rearview mirror as they march towards the division title. The Bills beat the Patriots 24-21 in Orchard Park, improving to 6-2 and comfortably in first place in the AFC East.
The ground game controlled the offense for both teams. Buffalo had two 80-yard rushers in Devin Singletary and Zack Moss, who ran for his first two NFL touchdowns. New England came in with a clear strategy to run the ball against a Bills’ defensive line that has struggled to stop the rush throughout much of the season. While Buffalo kept the Patriots at bay in the first half, New England began to find more holes in the second and marched down the field for two touchdowns.
Which QB WOULD NOT turn it over here? 👇🏻
Newton 😓
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) November 1, 2020
After the Bills retook the lead with a field goal, the Patriots crossed midfield with under two minutes to go, and even got into field goal range. But defensive tackle Justin Zimmer, who was recently promoted from the practice squad, forced a fumble that the Bills recovered, allowing them to kneel down and beat New England at home for the first time in nine years.
Tough times in New England
The Patriots fell to 2-5 and are now three and a half games behind Buffalo in the division and not in possession of the tiebreaker. They’ve lost four straight games for the first time in 18 years and are clearly struggling to adjust to life without Tom Brady, who is 5-2 in his first year as a starter in Tampa Bay. They should beat the Jets next week, but follow that up with a game against the Ravens, whose only two losses came to first-place teams. At this point it’s hard to imagine New England playing past Week 17.
While the Bills’ upcoming schedule is tough, beginning with the Seahawks next week, they’ve done what they needed to do within the division so far. They’re 4-0 in the AFC East and, with the entire division playing against the NFC West, should win the division by going 4-4 the rest of the way. The Bills haven’t won the AFC East since 1995, when Jim Kelly was still their quarterback. A quarter-century later and after a 17-season playoff drought, fans in Buffalo believe the division title is within their grasp once again in 2020.
Don’t sleep on Miami
It’s clear at this point that New England is far out of the playoff race. But you shouldn’t pencil in Buffalo as the division winner just yet. They’ve shown weaknesses in stopping the run, and still have to contend with the surging Dolphins, who won their third straight on Sunday and improved to 4-3 on the season. Either way, it looks like we’ll have a new division winner in the AFC East after eleven straight seasons of Patriots dominance.
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