New England Patriots

Patriots clinch AFC East title with 24-17 win over Bills

All of the updates from the victory at Gillette Stadium.

Rex Burkhead #34 of the New England Patriots celebrates rushing for a 1-yard touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills. Kathryn Riley/Getty Images

By Deyscha Smith and Christopher Price

13 minutes to read

Another year, another division title.

The Patriots earned their 11th consecutive AFC East crown Saturday with a dramatic 24-17 win over the Bills at Gillette Stadium.

New England, which trailed 17-13 with 7:25 to go in the third quarter, scored 11 in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback and take home the win.

Tom Brady was 26-for-33 for 271 yards and a touchdown, while Sony Michel had 21 carries for a season-high 96 yards. In addition, Rex Burkhead bounced back from an early gaffe to score the eventual game-winner and end the game with five carries for 20 rushing yards and a touchdown, and four catches for 77 yards. And Julian Edelman (five catches, 72 yards) put the capper on things — after he spent time being checked for a concussion in the second half, he returned and caught a successful two-point conversion late in the game.

On the other side of the ball, after a slow start, the Buffalo offense found its rhythm late in the first half and early in the second, eventually taking a four-point lead when Josh Allen found John Brown on a 53-yard scoring strike to make it 17-13 with 7:25 to go in the quarter.

But that would be it for the Bills, as New England cut the lead to one on a 20-yard field goal from Nick Folk (his third of the game) and a 1-yard run from Burkhead with just over five minutes left to make it 22-17. Following the successful two-point conversion, the Bills took one last shot at the end zone, but a late heave from Allen came up short.

Updates: 

7:34 p.m.: Terrific defensive pressure there for the Patriots on that fourth down. That should end it — 24-17.

7:31 p.m.: Two-minute warning, Patriots are up 17-13. But the Bills have the ball and are driving.

7:30 p.m.:

7:23 p.m.: 

This game is starting to feel a bit like the AFC title game between the Patriots and Jaguars a few years ago — a young and hungry team taking a shot against a powerful, veteran group.

7:16 p.m.: A seven-play, 59-yard drive ends with a burst across the goal-line from Rex Burkhead. Off the top of my head, not sure what the season-high for fullback snaps is for Elandon Roberts, but the guess here is that he’s broklen it. Big, physical afternoon for the New England running game.

7:00 p.m.: Good but not great drive there for New England, which settled for a Nick Folk field goal (his third of the afternoon) to make it 17-16 with 10:45 to go in regulation. Brady almost got decleated there by Ed Oliver at the end of that third-down run.

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6:56 p.m.: Regardless of how this one ends up, I’ve been really impressed by this Bills’ team. A smart, tough team on both sides of the ball. On the road, not intimidated, taking its’ shots. These guys will be a very tough out in the postseason.

6:53 p.m.: The Patriots trail 17-13 after three.

•Brady is 23-30 for 225 yards and one TD.

•Michel has 16 carries for 81 yards.

•Burkhead has 3 catches for 72 yards.

•New England has the ball on the Buffalo 15.

6:44 p.m.: We are approaching the moment in this afternoon’s contest where the Patriots could really use a special teams or defensive jolt. Not sure who might be up to the challenge, but the Bills could really do some damage here if they end up punching one in.

6:41 p.m.: Julian Edelman has gone from the blue medical tent to the locker room. The team has announced he’s being evaluated for a head injury.

6:38 p.m.: The Bills aren’t going away — a 53-yarder from Allen to Brown makes it 17-13 with 7:25 left in the third quarter. Terrific throw from Allen, fading away from the rush, but he still found Brown in stride for the score. It’s his first catch of the day, and Buffalo is back in the lead. Not sure what the Bills’ offense found, but after a really slow start, Brian Daboll’s group has found its mojo at the end of the second quarter and start of the third — 123 total yards of offense and a pair of touchdowns on those two drives.

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6:32 p.m.: 

That drive was a little underwhelming for the Patriots. The positive? An impressive 51-yarder from Nick Folk — the longest FG of the year for New England — was good. It’s 13-10 with 9:54 left in the third. The bad? That OPI on Edelman. You can argue the call, but it’s the seventh flag of the year on Edelman. You can argue Watson wouldn’t have been open without it, but it’s a tough call that theoretically takes points off the board for the Pats.

6:25 p.m.: Sony Michel is at 49 yards for the afternoon, with just over 12 minutes left in the third quarter. He hasn’t hit the 100-yard mark yet this season — today would be as good a time as any.

6:09 p.m.: The game is tied at 10 at the half. A few quick notes:

A tale of two halves. For the first 28 minutes, the Patriots were pretty much rock solid. Other than the ugly turnover on the Burkhead fumble, it was hard to take issue with anything that the Patriots have done to this point in the afternoon.

Until the two-minute mark of the second quarter.

Leading 10-3, New England was unable to convert on a fourth-down chance in Buffalo territory when N’Keal Harry was flipped and fell short of the first-down marker. (It looked like Mohamed Sanu missed a block.) The Bills’ offense, which hadn’t been able to do much of anything to that point, put together a six-play, 59-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard pass from Josh Allen to Dion Dawkins to leave the game tied at 10. An end-of-half breakdown is maddening to Belichick – expect the team to get chewed out in the locker room.

The first 28 minutes? Pretty good for New England. The Patriots offense put together a pair of steady and consistent drives against a really good Buffalo defense. (The 17-play series that ended with the field goal was the third-longest in franchise history, based on total number of plays.) Tom Brady has been pretty much perfect – he completed his first 10 passes, and while he hasn’t taken any deep shots, the short and intermediate stuff has really clicked for the Patriots. Sony Michel has run well, and Harry – who is starting to see more and more responsibility – has also had a good start. Oh, and if there’s one guy who needs a week or two off, it’s Julian Edelman. He’s had a pair of nice third-down pickups, but it hurts just watching him out there.

The defense was asked to answer early after that Burkhead fumble, and it did, forcing a field goal. All that being said, that breakdown over the last two minutes … just unforgivable in a game of this magnitude. It’s not all on the defense — the offense couldn’t convert on a fourth and short — but as good as the D has been this year, that was just a bad sequence.

One defensive note — I’m not sure if it was exclusive, but in the early going, we saw a lot of Gilmore matched up on Brown and Jackson against Cole Beasley. Jackson has done really well stepping up against one of the league’s better slot guys.

Bottom line? More of the first 28 minutes, less of the last two. If the Patriots can find the groove that led them to the early lead, they’ll be receiving hats and t-shirts afterward.

6:03 p.m.: 

This end-of-half letdown here by the Patriots are maddening for Belichick. The Bills just put a charge into this one with a touchdown pass to an offensive lineman — Dion Dawkins — to tie the game with a second left in the first half. 10-all at halftime.

5:33 p.m.: The Patriots are doing a great job when it comes to ball control and tempo — Josh Allen and the Bills have run just 15 plays here with just over three minutes left in the second quarter. Another score here will really sent New England into the half on a positive note.

5:27 p.m.: It was also the longest drive against the Bills’ defense this year, FYI.

5:25 p.m.: Looking like John Hannah

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1208511615273967623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1208511615273967623&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bostonglobe.com%2Fsports%2F2019%2F12%2F21%2Fcountdown-kickoff-bills-patriots%2FvuFt5oLQ19pGKZk040j4fI%2Fstory.html

5:24 p.m.: The Brady block kept that drive alive, and sparked this response from Scott Pioli:

5:18 p.m.: N’Keal Harry is having another good game — they’re moving him around a bit, and he’s doing more and more. He has 39 yards from scrimmage. It’s a stretch, bit he’s doing a LITTLE of what we saw Cordarrelle Patterson do last year in that he’s part of the running and passing game. There’s no special teams involved in the equation, but it’s becoming clearer the Patriots see him in that sort of mold — a big pass catcher who can also do some damage in some other areas.

5:13 p.m.:

5:00 p.m.: One quarter is in the book. Patriots are up, 7-3.

4:59 p.m.: I’m not sure it’s been exclsuive, but we’ve seen a lot of Gilmore against John Brown and Jackson matched up on Cole Beasley.

4:55 p.m.: That was as good and consistent an offensive sequence as I’ve seen this team put together against a quality defense in a long time. Brady is 7-for-7 for 61 yards, and put the capper on that drive with a floater to Matt LaCosse to make it 7-3 with 1:50 left in the first. And a big shout-out to the ground game, as New England has eight carries for 41 yards. The early fumble was ugly, but that drive was very sharp.

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1208506488953692161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1208506488953692161&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bostonglobe.com%2Fsports%2F2019%2F12%2F21%2Fcountdown-kickoff-bills-patriots%2FvuFt5oLQ19pGKZk040j4fI%2Fstory.html

4:51 p.m.: Good start for Brady here, who’s 5-for-5 for 47 yards to start the game. Short and intermediate stuff is working as the quarterback is doing well to spread it around a bit. The Patriots are putting their stamp on the game when it comes to tone and tempo.

4:43 p.m.: Given that turnover, a 35-yard field goal was probably the most palatable outcome for New England. It’s 3-0 Buffalo after Needham’s own Stephen Hauschka connected for the Bills. That fumble from Burkhead was his first of the season — the Patriots have been a really surehanded team, and they REALLY can’t afford that sorta stuff at this point in the season.

4:37 p.m.: A play that started with a ton of optimism with that big gain on a screen pass ends miserably with that turnover. That one is on the usually sure-handed Burkhead. Terrific play there by Buffalo to poke the ball away and get into New England territory. Pats’ defense will have to make a stop in the early going here in its own territory — an early test.

4:30 p.m.: Bills win the toss and defer. The Patriots will start with the football.

4:15 p.m.:

Official Price prediction – Patriots 17, Bills 10. Again, looking at between 7-10 points on defense/special teams for New England.

4:06 p.m.: 

3:59 p.m.: There are plenty of scenarios to consider this weekend for the Patriots, but the truth of the matter is that it comes down to two games: their contest against the Bills today, and the Bears-Chiefs game on Sunday.

If New England wins or ties against Buffalo, the Pats clinch the division. And if New England wins and Chicago beats Kansas City, the Patriots land the No. 2 seed. (Which begs the question: if New England is locked into the second seed entering the regular-season finale, does Bill Belichick treat the game like a modified exhibition contest and get some starters a well-deserved rest?)

Here are a few other things to keep in mind going into the weekend:

—Baltimore clinches a first-round bye with a win or a tie, a Kansas City loss or a tie, or a New England loss. The Ravens clinch home field with a win, a tie and a New England loss or a tie, or a Kansas City loss or a tie combined with a Patriots’ loss.

—Houston clinches the AFC South with a win, a tie and a Tennessee tie, or a Tennessee loss. The Texans can clinch a playoff berth with a tie and a Pittsburgh tie, or a Steelers’ loss.

3:46 p.m.:

3:37 p.m.: Even with the Bills playing as consistently well as they have since the early 1990s, I don’t think they are quite there just yet. This is going to be a fun, close game with a lot on the line. Much like the first one, I see this one turning on special teams — a blocked punt (where have we heard that one before?), a runback, a fumble … something. The New England special teams unit has been a difference-maker all season long, and while the Bills are decent when it comes to special teams, that’s going to be where the Patriots will be able to get some separation this afternoon. My bold prediction for the afternoon? New England will get between seven and 10 points this afternoon thanks to special teams/defense.

3:26 p.m.:

3:17 p.m.:

3:12 p.m.: The line for this game has moved a bit over the course of the week, maybe more than any New England game this year, at least in my experience. I saw it open last weekend at Patriots -7, but as of this morning, it had moved down to 5.5, at least in part because of the state of the New England offense. At 5.5, I still like the Patriots as a favorite for a few reasons, including the fact that they’ve been good (not great) against the spread this season, landing in the top 10 when it comes to winning percentage. (Honestly, the home crowd plays a big role this weekend, at least when it comes to the line.) The over/under is at 37.5, and given the state of both defenses, even with weather not expected to play a role, I’d still be inclined to bet the under.

3:05 p.m.: No real surprises when it comes to this week’s inactives: as we knew a few days ago, cornerback Jonathan Jones was going to be out because of a groin issue. (The fact that Joejuan Williams is active gives the Patriots a little more depth at corner with Jones on the sideline.)

The other six are mostly healthy scratches: running back Damien Harris, quarterback Cody Kessler, defensive lineman Byron Cowart (who has been on and off the injury report for a sizable portion of the season), offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor, tight end Ryan Izzo (who has also dealt with a few health issues this season), and offensive lineman Korey Cunningham.

One not-so-surprising note, but something that should bear watching? Julian Edelman is pretty dinged up, and dealing with multiple injuries. I have to believe that if the Patriots win today and it works out that they’re locked into the two seed going into next week, he’d be limited for the regular-season finale. Guy really needs a break.

2:45 p.m.: The weather this afternoon and into this evening is expected to be clear and cold — nothing too crazy. Highs are supposed to be in the low 30s, and no chance of precipitation. Basically? Good late-season football weather for two teams used to playing in these conditions.

2:40 p.m.: Pregame reading list:

2:15 p.m.: Welcome back to football! It’s a rare Saturday afternoon regular-season game, as the Patriots get set to meet the Bills at Gillette Stadium. We’ll have all your updates throughout the afternoon for this one, a contest that will have a sizable impact on the AFC playoff picture. We know a few details about the inactives, including the fact that Jonathan Jones has already been ruled out of this one, but we’ll get a more complete picture when the full slate is announced at roughly 3 o’clock. We’ll also have the latest betting news, updates from Foxborough, a look at the weather, and much more as we count down to kickoff.

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