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From a 21-point deficit, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind victory over their AFC East foe the New England Patriots, 35-31, in Foxborough on a cold Sunday morning.
Now the AFC East is between these two AFC powerhouses as the Bills move to 10-4 after snapping the Patriots’ 10-game winning streak. New England is now 11-3 on the season and still sits a game up on Buffalo for the division lead.
It was all Patriots early in this game thanks to MVP candidate Drake Maye, who had two rushing scores to make it 14-0 in the home team’s favor in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Patriots’ stout defensive unit forced three straight punts that allowed their offense to get to work early.
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James Cook III of the Buffalo Bills runs for a touchdown in the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 14, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Early in the second quarter, the Patriots blew the doors open with a 94-yard touchdown drive that saw rookie TreVeyon Henderson break off a 52-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0.
Allen and the Bills’ offense, which struggled to that point, was able to finally get something going on the ensuing drive to at least stay in the game. Allen found James Cook on a five-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 21-7, but the Patriots added a field goal at halftime to cruise into the locker room with a three-score lead.
But the second half was a completely different animal for Mike Vrabel’s Patriots squad as Allen showed his MVP style of play right from the start.
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The Bills made it a 10-point game right away, needing just six plays to find Dawson Knox on a four-yard pass for the score. After that, Buffalo’s defense had to step up, and they did, forcing a three-and-out and getting the ball back in Allen’s hands.
Over the next 5:29 of the clock in the third quarter, Allen went 11 plays and 70 yards as Cook scored for the second time as he extended the ball over the goal line to make it 24-21.
The game’s turning point was an interception thrown by Maye that ended up being an “arm punt” as Tre’Davious White hauled in the dunk attempt to Mack Hollins to seal the turnover at the Bills’ own nine-yard line.
The Bills went on to go 91 yards in 13 plays in the third quarter to take their first lead of the game when Knox caught a 14-yard pass for his second touchdown of the game to make it a 28-24 game.
Drake Maye of the New England Patriots celebrates a first quarter touchdown against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on December 14, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
If that wasn’t exciting enough, the Gillette Stadium crowd went ballistic when Henderson broke out again. On the first play of the drive, Henderson tried to run to the right when all the gaps were plugged. But using his lightning quickness, he broke back to the left and ran past every Bills defender for a 65-yard touchdown.
The Bills found themselves down by three once again, but the second half belonged to a more creative Bills, and they showed another methodical drive full of great plays, including Cook’s third touchdown of the game. He rushed in from 11 yards out to take a 35-31 lead, which was huge considering a field goal couldn’t tie it.
The Bills’ defense got two straight stops on two separate drives, including an incompletion on 4th and 5 from New England’s 22-yard line to ice the game.
In the box, Allen was 19-of-28 for 193 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 48 yards on 11 attempts on the ground. Cook also had 107 yards rushing with two scores on the ground on 22 carries while hauling in two passes for four yards.
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Eight different Bills players caught a pass from Allen, including Khalil Shakir, who had five catches for 65 yards.
For the Patriots, Maye was 14-of-23 through the air for 155 yards with 43 rushing yards. Henderson had just 14 carries but tallied 148 yards with his two scores.
