Bills just too much for Pats to handle in 24-10 victory in Foxboro

That's all she wrote. The Patriots never made it interesting in any way.

After the Buffalo touchdown, the Pats moved the chains with a 15-yard connection from Mac Jones to Kendrick Bourne. That was followed by an incompletion, a loss of 5 yards on a screen pass, and a pass to the flat on third-and-15 that only gained 8. The Patriots punted for the sixth time.

The Bills ended up punting the ball back to New England, but the Patriots took 5:45 to drive deep into Bills territory, only to eventually move backward just to settle for a field goal make the score 24-10 with less than two minutes to play.

After a failed onside kick for New England, Buffalo just took some kneeldowns to mercifully end the game.

The Patriots are now 6-6. They'll likely need to go 4-1 over their final five weeks in order to make the playoffs. A 9-7 record could be enough to earn a playoff spot, but with five teams battling for three spots, that's going to be cutting it close.

The Bills, meanwhile, are 9-3, back in first place in the division, keeping the pressure on Kansas City atop the conference, and still comfortably better than the Patriots.

The Bills scored a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. They scored a touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter.

This one came after a long drive, one that traveled a whopping 94 yards on 15 plays, chewing up 8:55 of game time. It ended with Devin Singletary plunging up the gut for a 1-yard score, after Allen scrambled to the 1-yard line on second-and-goal from the 8.

Prior to the touchdown drive, Mac Jones nearly got picked off, but for the second straight week, the return of "surviving the ground" led to a play being ruled incomplete. The Patriots didn't capitalize on Jordan Poyer's out of bounds bobble, though, eventually punting on their only possession of the third quarter. Prior to that, the Bills punted for the second time of the night.

The Patriots are now down big, and they're running out of time. Just 14:31 is left.

The Patriots actually had a little something cooking before halftime.

Josh Uche buzzed past left tackle David Quessenberry, chasing down Josh Allen from behind and stripping the ball from the QB. Matthew Judon recovered it at the New England 40-yard line, and the Patriots were in business.

A 14-yard run by Rhamondre Stevenson and a 9-yard reception by Jakobi Meyers moved the ball to the Buffalo 35. Then things stopped. On a second-and-1, Stevenson slipped. The Patriots let some time tick off the click before deciding to use their second timeout. On third-and-1, Jones ran a QB sneak ... and the Patriots then used their final timeout.

An incompletion and a short pass to Hunter Henry (he got out of bounds this week) set up a third-and-6, but with nowhere to go, Jones rolled to his right and threw the ball away.

That set up a 48-yard field goal for Nick Folk. While 48 yards is no chip shot, it's become a very makeable kick for NFL kickers, at least in terms of power. Yet Folk's kick didn't have the leg, as it bounced off the crossbar and back onto the field.

And so, the game heads to halftime at 17-7.

The Bills gained 195 yards, compared to New England's 133. Buffalo went 5-for-8 on third down and has convered twice on two red zone trips. The Patriots are 1-for-6 on third down and have yet to reach the red zone. They had a trio of three-and-outs, with four punts total in the half. 

Josh Allen is 12-for-21 for 118 yards and two touchdowns. (He had a 41-yard touchdown to Diggs called back due to offensive holding.) The Bills also ran for 77 yards on 18 carries, with Allen running just three times for nine yards. Jame Cook has 50 yards on eight carries, while Devin Singletary ran five times for 21 yards.

Mac Jones is 9-for-15 for 98 yards and a touchdown. Stevenson ran six times for 34 yards. Marcus Jones led the way with 51 receiving yards on two receptions, followed by Hunter Henry with just 13 yards on two receptions.

The Bills will receive to start the second half.

For the first time all night -- and for the first time in three games -- the Patriots have forced the Bills to punt.

After the Allen touchdown pass, the Patriots went three-and-out, but then the Bills went three-and-out.

The Bills famously didn't punt in their regular-season game in New England last year, and then didn't punt in their playoff win at home over the Patriots.

Yet, with 2:55 left in the second quarter, we can say that the Bills have punted.

That's a minor victory for New England.

There's only so much you can do against Josh Allen. His latest touchdown is evidence of that.

Facing a third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Allen looked dead to rights while getting chased to the right sideline. But his eyes remained downfield, and as he shed a potential sack from Mack Wilson, he released a pass into the end zone while falling out of bounds. Gabe Davis was standing there, mostly watching, as the pass headed his way.

Kyle Dugger and Myles Bryant were also just watching, too, so the pass was complete, and the Bills lead 17-7.

The Patriots committed a defensive holding penalty on that play (Jack Jones was the offender), but it was obviously declined. 

Well, the lead didn't last long.

The Bills just marched down the field in a hurry, going 82 yards on nine plays, capped with an 8-yard pass from Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs on the first play of the second quarter.

Diggs sprung free from Jonathan Jones to get open in the back corner of the end zone on that one.

Earlier in the drive, Jack Jones committed pass interference against Gabe Davis on a third-and-9, keeping Buffalo's drive moving. James Cook then broke off a 28-yard run up the middle, and Diggs was in the end zone two plays later.

Marcus Jones is explosive with the ball in his hands. So it was only a matter of time until the Patriots used him on offense.

They did ... and he scored a touchdown on his first snap.

More here.

The Buffalo Bills have got themselves a lead.

They got the ball after Mac Jones and Rhamondre Stevenson had a miscommunication on a third-and-inches running play, leading to a fumble on the handoff exchange. Stevenson recovered the ball but was unable to pick up the line to gain, leading to a Patriots three-and-out. New England had gotten close to a first down with a completion to DeVante Parker, but he caught the ball a hair short of the sticks.

Buffalo then quickly got a 19-yard connection from Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs, followed by a bit of Allen magic, as the QB flicked a shotput pass to Nyheim Hynes a few plays later to convert a third-and-11.

Their drive moved backward from there, though, as Diggs was called for offensive pass interference on the next play, and Allen took a sack on the following play. After a false start set up a third-and-20, the Bills went for a short completion to set up Tyler Bass for a field goal. He hit the 48-yarder, with the wind calm tonight, and the Bills lead 3-0 midway through the first quarter.

So, Trent Brown is active ... but he's not participating in warmups. In fact, he's not present for warmups. 

Dealing with an illness, Brown isn't on the field as the Patriots run their pregame warmups.

Instead, James Ferentz -- a career interior lineman -- is working at left tackle. That is ... interesting.

Ferentz has been filling in for David Andrews at center. At 6-foot-2, he'd certainly be one of the smaller offensive tackles playing in the NFL this week.

We'll see after kickoff how things shake out. It's possibly that with Brown being sick, he's using every single minute of pregame to recover.

UPDATE: The Patriots' offense has taken the field to start the game, and Trent Brown is in at left tackle. Seems like he needed that extra time to get ready.

Left tackle Trent Brown was a late addition to the injury report, added on the day of the game with an illness. But Brown will be active for this one, which prevents the Patriots from reaching very deep into their tackle depth.

There's bad news on the right side of the O-line, as right tackle Yodny Cajuste is inactive. That means the Patriots will be dipping deep into their tackle depth, as Cajuste was filling in for the injured Isaiah Wynn.

The Patriots added Conor McDermott to the practice squad last week, and he could be sent into action at right tackle.

Also not helping matters for the Patriots is the fact that cornerback Jalen Mills is inactive. He's dealing with a groin injury.

David Andrews, Jakobi Myers, DeVante Parker, Jabrill Peppers and Marcus Jones are all active, after being listed as questionable.

The Bills are also thin at tackle, with starter Dion Dawkins out. That was known on Wednesday.

Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. at Gillette.