Icy temperatures awaited the New England Patriots. So has the AFC East champion since 2020.

The Buffalo Bills survived a 24-21 upset at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.

Here’s a look back at what happened there as head coach Jerod Mayo’s team returned home with a record of 3-12.

A tale of two halves for an aggressive Maye

It was 14 degrees at kickoff in Orchard Park. And in his long sleeves, Drake Maye was warm, aggressive and exactly where he needed to be early. But the rookie quarterback completed 22 of 36 passes for 260 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and a lost fumble in his first meeting with the Bills.

The Patriots broke through the “11” scrum and opened Sunday with a third-and-eight conversion against the Lightning. A drop in the bucket from 28 yards out followed wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, who came onto the field against tight coverage and a high-floating single safety. The next series was 16 plays, 91 net yards and ended in the end zone with a 14-0 lead. It ended close and the result was a threesome. However, a quarterback rating of 110.2 was maintained at halftime.

Soon facing a 17-14 deficit at halftime, Maye was intercepted in the end zone by free safety Cam Lewis while searching for tight end Austin Hooper, derailing a drive that resulted in three first downs. Then there was a snowball effect. A reverse pass rolled toward the doorstep as cornerback Taron Johnson was there to pounce on it and score. When the guests returned to the end zone there were still 1:13 minutes left. In the divisional matchup, No. 3 overall pick University of North Carolina gained 31 yards on the ground on six carries. Among other things, targeted runs were carried out under the embattled offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

Stevenson recorded his eighth touchdown and seventh fumble

Buffalo’s run defense entered the weekend allowing 4.7 yards per carry on the season. It would be up to New England’s backfield to get that edge.

Rhamondre Stevenson converted a dozen handoffs into 60 yards on Sunday, including crucial downhill longs of 14 and 14. His eighth touchdown of the season, extending the starter’s career high, came along the way. The same goes for his defensive pass interference deep down the right sideline and his seventh fumble of the season. The latter call gave Buffalo the ball in a 14-14 game. This would result in a field goal. Later he was the actual receiver of the ball behind the line that stayed alive and made it 24:14.

Antonio Gibson came into action quickly and finished with 36 yards from scrimmage and 12 touches. The March recruit also scored the opening kickoff for 42 yards. After ruling veteran JaMycal Hasty out of the final injury report due to an ankle problem, the Patriots signed undrafted rookie Terrell Jennings to the 53-man roster on the eve of kickoff at 4:25 p.m. ET.

Strange back in uniform, but the offensive line retains its combination

The ninth starting combination of the season remained on Sunday.

New England’s offensive line included Vederian Lowe at left tackle, Layden Robinson at left guard, Ben Brown at center, Mike Onwenu at right guard and an early false start at right tackle Demontrey Jacobs. But Buffalo’s defense ended with a single sack worth negative yardage, and it was set up by a botched shotgun shot at the goal line in the fourth quarter.

Former No. 29 overall pick Cole Strange, whose 2023 season ended with a patellar tendon tear, retired after going to the inactives last week. In return, center backs Lecitus Smith and Tyrese Robinson became healthy scratches, while waived Lester Cotton in November became a legitimate reporter. Rookie offensive tackle Caedan Wallace remained on injured reserve after his 21-day practice window recently opened.

Waiting for Allen to lose his rhythm

The MVP frontrunner had 700 passing yards, 150 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns and no turnovers in his last two starts. This train slowed down on Sunday. Josh Allen completed 16 of 29 passes with one touchdown and one interception. The Bills quarterback had 154 yards through the air and 30 yards on the ground.

His team only had possession for 2:48 minutes in the first quarter. Often forced to hold the football against a mush rush and man-to-man coverage, the Patriots recorded a sack against the 6-foot-2, 237-pounder, who was seen flexing his right hand in the final frame.

The starting secondary included Pro Bowl contender Christian Gonzalez and the Bills’ 2023 draft choice Alex Austin at cornerback. They were joined at safety Kyle Dugger, Jaylinn Hawkins and hybrid linebacker Marte Mapu. The recently healthy scratch returned to the lineup when the Jabrill Peppers went from questionable to inactive 90 minutes before kickoff. A pass breakup and an interception on a deep shot in the end zone followed, but no touchback.

Cook sliced ​​through the Patriots’ run defense for 100 yards and scored twice

A week later, after converting 31 carries into 164 yards and two visits to the end zone against the Arizona Cardinals, a rushing attack emerged that led the team in both touchdowns and first down conversion rate League ranked.

James Cook rushed for 100 yards on 11 attempts for the Bills on Sunday. The sudden starter had a breakaway 46 along the way, getting from the outside zone into the end zone through a sea of ​​out-of-position Patriots. Outside halftime, he scored on a 25-point run and then a touchdown reception at the goal line to tie the score at 14-14. Strong variety with Ray Davis and Ty Johnson combining for double-digit carries.

New England hit the base field 3-4. Up front, Anfernee Jennings and Keion White resided on the edges. Daniel Ekuale, Davon Godchaux and a released Jeremiah Pharms Jr. filled the starting lineup. Two punch-outs from the defense remained irretrievable.

Henry turns the clock back to 2019 and hits a career high

Hunter Henry was just 18 yards away from tying his career high set in 2019 with the Los Angeles Chargers. The gap narrowed in the first third of the game. And at the 5:49 mark in the first quarter, the tight end, team captain and scorer had everything under control.

From then on the chains kept moving. He now has 674 yards and counting in a season that included 66 catches, also a milestone for the former John Mackey Award winner.

Henry was criticized for holding out on a planned quarterback run in the second quarter. The 30-year-old responded with a touchdown to make it 24:21 in the final seconds.

Boutte goes to a wide receiver room of six

Six wide receivers were in uniform at Highmark Stadium. A guy mentioned above found the end zone there.

On Sunday, Boutte caught a handful of passes and had the best rushing performance of his career: 95 yards. The second touchdown of his tenure came on a third-and-4 go route. The LSU product collected 31 hits later in the break and slid in to grab 22 more off the turf when he came back out. Kendrick Bourne started alongside him. Also getting the nod for the slot was DeMario Douglas, who had two defensive pass interferences and four receptions for 33 yards and a score that didn’t hold up under review.

Rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker combined for a single goal, while veteran Alex Erickson served as the standard practice squad player. The midweek signing was deep on punts since 2022 first-team All-Pro returner Marcus Jones was sidelined with a hip issue.

Check in for special teams

In the last three games, Joey Slye had four missed field goals. In the elements on Sunday, the Patriots kicker wasn’t called on to convert more than three extra points.

However, defending champion Bryce Baringer punted three times for an average of 44.3 yards per game. And with the game trailing by 10, the sophomore specialist was pulled in on fourth-and-six from his own 45 with 8:33 to play.

He didn’t even have 3:59 left in the half when New England dialed a direct snap to undrafted safety and forward defender Dell Pettus. This fake moved the bats in the shadows of the uprights on fourth-and-1.