The stage was set for a banger. The New England Patriots entered one of the NFL’s most hostile environments as 14.5-point underdogs as they were missing several starters on defense, had lost four straight and were facing one of the hottest teams in football.

And yet they gave the Buffalo Bills everything they could on Sunday. In fact, the game – which ended with Buffalo winning 24-21 – was within reach.

Unfortunately, the Patriots were unable to continue their strong play in the first half. After the break they turned back into a pumpkin and were then ground into a fine paste by both the Bills and their own tricks.

Their first three offensive possessions after halftime were New England’s undoing. Each of them ended with a turnover.

“We can’t allow ourselves the mistakes we made in the second half. The result is the result,” running back Antonio Gibson said after the game.

“We ran the ball well, threw it well and got off to a good start. “Just came out in the second half and put the defense in a tough spot after they tied it,” quarterback Drake Maye added.

After Buffalo tied the score at 14 on its first drive of the third period, the Patriots ran just two plays before a Rhamondre Stevenson fumble gave the ball back to the AFC East champions. Six plays later, the Bills had taken their first lead of the game and officially turned what was once a 14-0 deficit into a 17-14 lead.

The New England offense responded in style, advancing to the Buffalo 16-yard line on their next possession. But disaster struck again: Maye tried to hit tight end Austin Hooper in the end zone, but the only player who could play the ball was defensive back Cam Lewis.

The Patriots defense held after the interception. While it gave up 55 yards and allowed Buffalo to use nearly six minutes of game time along the way, it eventually forced a punt to keep the score within reach.

It took all but two plays for the Patriots to change that.

After a 2nd-and-8 at their own 12-yard line, the Patriots went with a reverse pass to Rhamondre Stevenson. The play was doomed from the start: right tackle Demontrey Jacobs delivered an inadequate chip to Greg Rousseau, which in turn allowed him to compensate for Stevenson after he failed to make the short throw; This paved the way for fellow Bills defensive back Taron Johnson to recover what was supposed to be a fumble in the end zone.

The Patriots still had chances to erase their 24-14 deficit, but by that point the momentum had completely shifted to the Bills. It never came back.

“A tale of two halves,” tight end Hunter Henry said. “In the second half he just wasn’t ready to play. I just turned the ball over. Had a long, good drive and turned the ball over in the red zone; some costly penalties. You play against a good football team, but you just can’t give them the ball, especially in plus territory. This is a good football team and you just can’t do something like that.”

The Patriots have been doing “stuff like that” all year, which is why they ended up 25th in the NFL in Week 16 with a turnover differential of -7. For comparison, the Bills were tied in the league at +18.

Turnover and an inability to limit self-inflicted mistakes have been big reasons why the two division rivals are at opposite ends of the spectrum this season. And until the Patriots get out of the slump in that regard, getting a win against Buffalo – or any other team for that matter – will be a tall order.

“It’s really frustrating. We just hurt ourselves with the same thing – the same things repeated,” Drake Maye said.

“It’s so frustrating and I’m going to stay out of some trouble. At some point the disappointment turns into a kind of frustration, really frustrated.”