The Bills hit New England quarterback Drake Maye 20 times on 45 dropbacks in the 24-21 victory, a season-high, according to Buffalo News charts.

At 44%, it was not only a season high, but also the most blitzes by a Bills defense since a 21-blitz game in a home win over Carolina in December 2021.

The pressure worked well. Maye was 6 of 16 for 67 yards with an interception as the Bills rushed five or more men. There was also one sack on a blitz and three defensive penalties on blitz plays.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Bills currently have a 20.4% blitz rate on dropbacks this season, which is the sixth lowest in the league.

Here’s a breakdown of the game by position, based on video reviews and a rating on a scale of 0 to 5:

Quarterback (3.0). The Bills’ quick passing game wasn’t up to scratch against the Patriots. The Bills ran the ball well on first down – 15 times for 121 yards. But the first-down passing game, always supposed to be a strength, was out of rhythm. Josh Allen was just 4 of 10 for 45 yards, with one scramble and 11 first-down dropbacks. A small part of the problem was that Allen could have taken shorter check-down wins at times. An early miss saw Allen go for Keon Coleman, who was well covered by Christian Gonzalez. A checkdown to the apartment was open, but David Edwards was beaten by Jeremiah Pharms, who got in Allen’s face. Allen missed a shot on an early receiver screen. Allen didn’t pull the check-down trigger late in the fight when he hit his elbow.

There was no one open on third-and-16 deep pass to the end zone. It was like a punt, and the Bills got a break when interceptor Marte Mapu tried to return it and was tackled by Ty Johnson at the 1-yard line. During a sack in the third quarter, Allen didn’t see Mapu coming off the edge as a free rusher on a safety blitz. That was the QB.

Allen made an audible signal to check the ideal running play on James Cook’s long TD. Allen was an efficient 6 of 8 for 49 yards against the blitz. Overall, a QB’s job is to win, and Allen has done enough to make that happen.

Running backs (4.5). Cook’s 46-yard TD run was his fourth 40-yard run of the season, ranking second in the NFL. Saquon Barkley of the Eagles has seven. Cook made a great cut to explode through a big hole, and speedy Pats safety Kyle Dugger couldn’t catch Cook. Cook’s 4-yard TD reception was a nice play designed to attack man coverage. The Bills ran Khalil Shakir with a wraparound move to the right field, then had Cook run from the right side of the backfield to the far left sideline, allowing a long chase and run to Pats safety Brenden Schooler. Cook will win this race every time. Ty Johnson made Anfernee Jennings smile with an early 5-yard run in the backfield. Ray Davis showed speed on a 17-yard third-and-1 catch. It was a turnaround for coordinator Joe Brady.

Offensive line (4.5). It was a good day for the O-line as the Bills showcased their run-blocking ability against a Pats defense that was missing three core backbone players (defensive tackle Christian Barmore, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and safety Jabrill Peppers ). The blocking combination of Alec Anderson and Reggie Gilliam caused a lot of displacement on Cook’s 46-yard TD. The foul on Torrence that negated a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter was a poor call, and Spencer Brown had another crucial false start and was beaten late on by Daniel Ekuale.

Receiver (2.0). Late in the second quarter, the Pats only rushed three and played coverage. Allen threw a punch deep, but Shakir dropped a tough catch. Amari Cooper has seen many of Gonzalez’s standouts. Cooper let the rookie trail in the fourth quarter. Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox made some nice attacks.

Defensive line (3.5). The grade is raised because of Greg Rousseau’s great plays. He narrowed his lead and forced a fumble from Rhamondre Stevenson early in the third quarter. That led to the green field goal. Then “Groot” sank a swing pass for Stevenson, which became a muffed lateral and was used in the end zone for a touchdown. Rousseau anticipated and defeated a cut block by tackle Demontrey Jacobs.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said of the play: “It’s the cut block. If we can get the cut block through the tackle and watch the film, we have a big game there.”

Von Miller had a good day with five pressures against a low-level right tackle, Jacobs. AJ Epenesa was caught offside on an early third-and-2 play. On Stevenson’s 14-yard TD run, Dawuane Smoot couldn’t close the gap adequately, Baylon Spector couldn’t get out of a block and Cam Lewis missed a point-blank tackle at the 4-yard line. Jordan Phillips failed to cross the line on an early pitch, but he did manage to get a run to the goal line late.

Linebacker (2.5). Spector didn’t get off to a good start before suffering a calf injury. He was flagged for pass interference on the first drive and blocked on two 14-yard runs. Dorian Williams wasn’t perfect, but played hard and fast. He had three run stuffs and four pressures. He lunged at passers-by 14 times. There were more positives than negatives. Williams now has a team-high 105 tackles this season, while Terrel Bernard has 98. Williams didn’t get deep enough in Cover 2 on a 26-yard pass to tight end Austin Hooper. Williams and Cole Bishop got into zone coverage just a little late after the late TD pass to Hunter Henry.

Defensive Backs (2.0). Lewis had a good view of the QB and was able to quickly break the ball into the end zone during his interception. Kaiir Elam had an eventful day. On the 28-yard touchdown pass to end the first drive, Elam was in good position and was beaten with a great throw. He had good coverage on the next two balls down the sideline. Elam and Bishop quickly connected on a third-down pass to force a punt. But Elam had two pass interference fouls in the end zone. Elam had his hands on the outside of his shoulders the first time, and the second time he ran an underthrow into the receiver.

Special teams (2.0). The Patriots returned the first kickoff 48 yards. Joe Andreessen and Javon Solomon allowed themselves to be blocked too far, while Edefuan Ulofoshio couldn’t fend off a double-team block. This created a large lane and allowed for a short scoring drive to open the game. The Bills were unprepared for the Patriots’ fake punt line collapse in the second quarter. On the positive side, the punt protection unit did a good job on two punts in the fourth quarter where the Pats tried to get a block. Sam Martin made both punts quickly. On an early punt, Gunner Jalen Virgil beat his blocker downfield and hit the ball at the Pats’ 9. Tyler Bass hit a 50-yard field goal at a crucial time, giving the Bills the lead for good. Shakir recovered an onside kickoff.