ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Patriots came out far more competitive than anyone expected but still wound up disappointing in a 24-21 loss to the Bills.

The Patriots squandered a 14-point lead in the Week 16 loss to the Bills at Highmark Stadium. Jerod Mayo is now 3-12 to begin his first season as Patriots head coach.

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The Patriots’ first offensive series couldn’t have gone any better with rookie quarterback finishing the six-play, 58-yard drive with a 28-yard downfield strike to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte for a touchdown.

What. A. Catch. by Kayshon Boutte.

What. A. Throw. by Drake Maye. pic.twitter.com/xBrsyyg8ry

— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) December 22, 2024

Running back Rhamondre Stevenson also drew a 14-yard pass interference penalty on a throw from Maye. The drive was set up by a 42-yard return from Antonio Gibson from the end-zone line.

The Patriots’ defense responded by forcing a punt before their offense came back on the field for a 16-play, 91-yard drive as Stevenson punched the ball through with a 14-yard tackle-breaking touchdown. The Patriots possessed the ball for 12:56 of the first 15 minutes and 46 seconds of the game.

The Patriots were forced to punt after a three-and-out after electing not to go for it on fourth-and-1. They also decided to take the ball from their own 27-yard line rather than having the Bills kick again after an illegal formation penalty from Buffalo on the kickoff.

Bills QB Josh Allen tossed the ball into the end zone, where safety Marte Mapu intercepted it. He decided to take the ball out rather than down it for a touchback and got tackled at the Patriots’ 1-yard line.

The Patriots put together a 10-play, 33-yard drive before punting. That included a 2-yard rush from Dell Pettus on a fake punt for a first down on fourth-and-2. The Patriots went aggressive again at the end of the half but only made it to the Bills’ 25-yard before time expired.

The Bills got the ball to start the second half and scored easily on a nine-play, 68-yard drive. Allen hit running back James Cook for a 4-yard touchdown.

Stevenson fumbled on the second play of the Patriots’ ensuring series, and it was recovered by the Bills. The Bills took a 17-14 lead with a 50-yard field goal from Tyler Bass.

The Patriots made it down to the red zone, but Maye was picked off by Cam Lewis, who made contact with Austin Hooper, causing the tight end to fall to the ground.

The Bills couldn’t come away with any points and were forced to punt.

Just two plays into the Patriots’ ensuing drive, Maye threw backwards to Stevenson, who dropped it before getting leveled, deep in the Patriots’ own territory. The ball rolled to the end zone, where the Bills recovered it for a touchdown to take a 24-14 lead.

The Patriots scored one more time with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter on a six-yard touchdown pass from Maye to tight end Hunter Henry to cut the Bills’ lead to 24-21.

The Patriots couldn’t recover their onside kick but still had three timeouts. Any chance to stop the Bills and get the ball back immediately was lost when Bills running back Ty Johnson went for a 12-yard run on the first play of the drive.

TAKEAWAYS

Hot start: Who saw the Patriots getting out to a 14-0 start? You’re a liar if you say you did.

The Patriots put together their best opening drive of the season and followed it up with one of their best drives overall of the Jerod Mayo era.

Then they didn’t score again until there was 1:13 left in the fourth quarter.

Polk loses snaps to Baker: Rookie Javon Baker appears to have usurped Ja’Lynn Polk’s role as the No. 4 wide receiver. Neither rookie could significantly eat into Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne or DeMario Douglas’ snaps nor come away with a catch.

Intermittent aggression: The Patriots went for it deep into their own territory on a fake punt and also tried to score to end the half with just 13 seconds on the clock. But there were two other fourth-and-short situations that the Patriots elected to punt. Plus, the Patriots punted from midfield while trailing the Bills by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter.

Another fumble for Stevenson: Make that seven fumbles on the season for Rhamondre Stevenson. That’s the most for a running back since 2020.

Rough run defense: The Patriots’ pass defense held up against Allen, who was 16-of-29 for 154 yards with a touchdown and interception, but their run defense allowed 172 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown.

UP

WR Kayshon Boutte: It was a monster game for the Patriots’ second-year pro. He caught five passes for 95 yards with a touchdown. He also drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone.

Cornerbacks: Alex Austin and Jonathan Jones both came away with pass breakups, and Christian Gonzalez was locking down his side of the field. Jones also forced a fumble, but the Patriots’ defense couldn’t recover it.

S Marte Mapu: He made a dumb decision, taking his interception out of the end zone and getting tackled at the 1-yard line, and he missed two tackles. But he made the pick, plus had two hurries, a pass breakup and forced fumble in this return from being a healthy scratch in recent weeks.

DOWN

RB Rhamondre Stevenson: Stevenson fumbled for the seventh time this season. It was the fourth lost fumble for the Patriots running back.

Stevenson was also involved in a Maye fumble on a backward pass near the end zone. He should have caught the ball, but there was zero reason to throw backward in that situation. It can only lead to fumbles and turnovers.

RT Demontrey Jacobs: Jacobs was flagged twice for false starts. PFF also charged him with allowing a team-leading five pressures in their in-game tracking. A missed block also led to Stevenson getting smoked on his dropped backward target.

Could that open the door for rookie Caedan Wallace to start in the future? It should if Wallace is healthy.

QB Drake Maye: There were extenuating factors in Maye’s two turnovers. Hooper was knocked down on his interception, and Stevenson should have caught his backward pass that led to a Bills recovery for a touchdown. But Maye’s throw to Hooper was shallow, and he shouldn’t be throwing backward when backed up near his own end zone, and both go down as turnovers for Maye.

Maye also fumbled after catching a shotgun snap and dropping back.

Overall, Maye was 22-of-36 for 260 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and lost fumble.