The Bills dominated the teams’ third meeting in 41 days, winning 47-17 to move on to the divisional round of the playoffs. Buffalo scored a touchdown on all seven of its possessions outside of a kneel-down at the end of the game, becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to score a TD on each of its first seven drives of a playoff game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Bills also became the first team in NFL history to go an entire playoff game without a punt, field goal or turnover.
“It’s not often in coaching you can enjoy the last six minutes of a game and kind of look up in the stands and see the fans enjoying it and at home,” coach Sean McDermott said. “I’m happy for them more than anything. For us as a team this year, it’s one game. That’s a good football team and they’ve been at the top for so long. So, we have a lot of respect for them. We’ve just got to keep moving on.”
With the victory, the Bills have beaten the Patriots twice by double digits in a single season (33-21 in Week 16), becoming the first team to do so since Bill Belichick became head coach.
“We just couldn’t keep up with them. They certainly deserved to win. Well-coached. The team executed well, and we couldn’t do much of anything,” Belichick said after the game.
Dating back to that matchup in Week 16, the Bills’ last 13 drives against the Patriots yielded 11 scores (10 touchdowns and a field goal). During that stretch, the only thing that stopped the Buffalo offense was the clock.
Not only did the offense put up an impressive performance, but the Bills continued to show improvements in areas that have caused issues throughout the season. The running game was effective, and the…