Patriots believe 2nd-half collapse in loss to Bills isn't a sign of bigger issues

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots had one of their fastest starts of the season in the first half against the Bills. The problem was they combined it with one of their worst second halves of the season as well.

It added up to their first loss since late September, and some sudden questions about a team that had been one of the NFL’s best over the previous 10 weeks.

Even after New England’s 35-31 setback to Buffalo on Sunday, the Patriots (11-3) remain in the driver’s seat atop the AFC East, holding a one-game lead over the Bills with three games left to play.

While they were disappointed to see their 10-game win streak come to an end, the Patriots are viewing it as hiccup rather than something emblematic of bigger issues.

"It is definitely something — you never know, we probably needed it,” wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. “It’s a lesson for sure that you’re going to have to keep that foot on the gas.”

New England held a 24-7 lead at halftime, scoring on all but one of their five possessions. That flipped in a second half that saw quarterback Drake Maye and the offense put only seven points on the board while the Bills scored 28 as quarterback Josh Allen seemed to pick apart the Patriots defense.

Coach Mike Vrabel said his team’s shortcomings went beyond the mistakes of just the defense.

“It’s not just that unit. The one thing that we’ve done in victory is to play very complementary. I would say to give the third-ranked offense the field position that we did is tough,” Vrabel said. “We are disappointed but not discouraged, and there’s a lot of good snaps of defense, but not enough, and good snaps of offense and not enough, and some good snaps of special teams, but not enough.”

The Patriots have struggled to score in the red zone for most of the season and came in with touchdowns on just 51% of their chances inside the 20-yard line. But they were 2 of 3 on Sunday.

While there were disputable holding and pass interference calls against the Patriots in the second half, their seven total penalties for 65 yards (six in the second half) proved costly. They included infractions like a call on running back Rhamondre Stevenson in the third quarter. New England had just had its lead trimmed to 24-21 when Stevenson broke a 16-yard run. He was pushed on the sideline by Bills linebacker Matt Milano, causing a scrum in which Stevenson shoved him back. Both players were called for offsetting unnecessary roughness, denying the Patriots extra yards.

RB TreVeyon Henderson. The rookie had touchdown runs of 52 and 65 yards, bringing his season total to four rushing scores of at least 50 yards. He joined Chris Johnson in 2009 as the only players in NFL history to have multiple games in a season with multiple TDs of 50-plus yards.

Maye. After scoring a pair of rushing TDs to jumpstart the offense in the first half, Maye disappeared down the stretch. After going 9 of 11 for 108 yards through the air in the opening 30 minutes, he was just 5 of 12 for 47 yards passing with an interception over the final two quarters.

LB Robert Spillane was active after being limited throughout the week with a foot issue. But he did not play in the game, though Vrabel said he could have been used in an emergency situation. CB Carlton Davis III left in the third quarter with a groin injury but returned.

16-25 —That’s the combined record of the Patriots’ final three opponents — Baltimore (7-7), the New York Jets (3-11) and Miami (6-7) — entering Monday night. The Bills’ final three opponents — Cleveland (3-11), Philadelphia (9-5) and the Jets (3-11) — are 15-27

The Patriots visit the Ravens on Sunday night.

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