TEAM NOTES
- Bill Belichick becomes third NFL coach with 300 career regular season wins.Â
- Patriots break four-game losing streak to Buffalo.Â
- QB Mac Jones has fourth game with an 80.0 completion percentage or better.Â
- DB Jabrill Peppers has first interception since 2020.
TEAM NOTES
PATRIOTS END FOUR-GAME LOSING STREAK TO BUFFALO
The Patriots ended a four-game losing streak to Buffalo with the 29-25 victory. They also snapped a three-game losing streak, their longest such streak since 2020.
PATRIOTS IMPROVE RECORD WHEN LEADING AT HALFTIME AT GILLETTE
The Patriots jumped out to a 13-3 halftime lead in the 29-25 victory. The Patriots improved to 109-3 at Gillette Stadium when leading at halftime.Â
PATRIOTS OFFENSE SCORES AGAINST A TOP-RANKED BUFFALO DEFENSE
The Patriots scored 29 points against a Buffalo defense that entered the game ranked third in the NFL, allowing just 14.8 points per game.
PATRIOTS HAVE THIRD GO-AHEAD TD IN FINAL 15 SECONDS IN THE LAST 30 SEASONS
TE Mike Gesiscki's go-ahead touchdown from QB Mac Jones is the Patriots third go-ahead touchdown in the final 15 seconds in the last 30 seasons. The others were Tom Brady to Kenbrell Thompkins with five seconds to play in a 30-27 win vs. New Orleans on Oct. 13, 2013 and Drew Bledsoe's 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Ben Coates as time expired in a 25-21 win vs. Buffalo on Nov. 29, 1998.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
BELICHICK BECOMES THIRD COACH WITH 300 REGULAR SEASON WINS
Head coach Bill Belichick became the third NFL head coach with 300 career regular season wins with the victory over Buffalo, joining Don Shula and George Halas.Â
JONES HAS FOURTH GAME WITH A COMPLETION PERCENTAGE ABOVE 80 PERCENT
QB Mac Jones had his fourth career game with a completion percentage of 80 percent in a game after finishing 25-of-30 for 272 yards and two touchdowns for a completion percentage of 83.3.Â
JONES LEADS THE PATRIOTS TO FOURTH QUARTER WIN
Down 25-22 with 1:58 left to play and the Patriots at the Buffalo 25-yard line, Jones led the Patriots on an 8-play, 75-yard drive before culminating the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Mike Gesicki with 12 seconds to play to give New England the win. Jones was 7-of-8 for 70 yards on the drive.
ONWENU MAKES THE START AT RIGHT TACKLE
OL Mike Onwenu started at right tackle. It was his 14th start at right tackle overall (10 starts in 2020 and three in 2021) and his first since he started at right tackle at Carolina on Nov. 7, 2021.
PEPPERS HAS FIRST INTERCEPTION SINCE 2020
S Jabrill Peppers intercepted Buffalo QB Josh Allen on the Bills first play from scrimmage. It was Peppers first interception since Nov. 8, 2020 at Washington when he played for the New York Giants.
DOUGLAS WITH A 25-YARD RETURN
Rookie WR Demario Douglas returned a second quarter punt 25 yards to help New England begin a drive at the Buffalo 46-yard line. That helped lead to a 5-play, 40-yard drive that ended in a 24-yard field goal by K Chad Ryland.
DOUGLAS HAS A 20-YARD RUN – PATRIOTS FIRST RUN OF OVER 20 YARDS IN 2023
Douglas had a 20-yard run in the third quarter. It is the Patriots first run play of over 20 yards in 2023.
BROWN GOES DEEP
TE Pharaoh Brown had two receptions and both went for more than 20 yards. Brown caught a 25-yard pass in the first quarter and a 26-yard pass in the fourth quarter. He has five receptions for 137 yards for the year and is averaging 27.4 yards per reception. The highest average in a season for a Patriots player was Stanley Morgan with a 23.4-yard average in 1981 (44 receptions for 1,029 yards).
BARINGER HAS SECOND 60-YARD PUNT OF THE SEASON
Rookie P Bryce Baringer connected on a 64-yard punt in the second quarter to pin Buffalo at its own 6-yard line. It is his second 60-yard punt of the season. He had a 65-yard punt in the third quarter of the season-opener vs. Philadelphia on Sept. 10. Both of Baringer's punts landed in inside the 20-yard line. He now has 18 punts inside the 20-yard line and is on pace to finish the year with 43 punts inside the 20-yard line. The Patriots record for most punts inside the 20-yard line in a season is 36 by Jake Bailey in 2019.
REAGOR RECORDS FIRST RECEPTION AS A PATRIOT
WR Jalen Reagor was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad for the third time in 2023 and caught his first pass in a New England uniform on an 11-yard reception from QB Mac Jones in the third quarter.
ROOKIE KICKER CONNECTS ON THREE FIELD GOALS
Rookie K Chad Ryland connected on all three of his field goals (30, 24 and 49).
SCHOOLER SEES FIRST DEFENSIVE SNAPS
DB Brenden Schooler saw his first defensive snap in the final play of the game. He was inserted with 5 seconds to play and recovered a fumble following a fumble by QB Josh Allen to seal the win.
LINEUP NOTES
- DB Cody Davis returned to action after beginning the season on the Reserve/PUP List with an injury that limited him to just six games in 2022.
- DB Jack Jones returned to action after beginning the season on injured reserve. He entered the game in the second quarter.
- DL Trysten Hill made his debut in a New England uniform after being elevated from the practice squad.
- OL Cole Strange returned to the starting lineup at left guard after missing three games due to injury.
- OL Mike Onwenu made his first start at right tackle since the 2021 season. He started four games at right guard in 2023.
- DB Jalen Mills made his first start of the 2023 season.
- Rookie WR Demario Douglas made his first NFL start when the Patriots opened in a three-wide receiver set.
