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Mike Reiss
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Quarterback Drake Maye delivered his signature NFL win with clutch play down the stretch, and receiver Stefon Diggs was sensational in an emotional return to Western New York, as the New England Patriots shocked the Buffalo Bills, 23-20, on Sunday night.
Maye helped lead the offense on a final drive to set up kicker Andy Borregales’ 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining — a march that started with Maye somehow finding Diggs for a 12-yard catch-and-run as defensive lineman DaQuan Jones had him in his grasp and was bringing him to the ground.
Maye’s knack for extending plays, and finding Diggs in key situations, was a significant part of the winning formula that snapped the Bills’ 14-game home winning streak. Diggs, who played for the Bills from 2020-23 and called it a “nostalgic” night for him, finished with a team-high 10 catches for 146 yards.
“I’m proud of both of them,” first-year Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “Being able to emotionally come back here for Stef and being in this thing all week — a really good leader for us … and I think just a really gutty performance from Drake. I just continue to enjoy watching him grow and lead this football team.”
Maye, starting his first career primetime game in the NFL, finished 22-of-30 for 273 yards in leading his first-ever game-winning drive as a pro. He shared a celebratory embrace with Vrabel upon his return from the locker room, as Vrabel was waiting for every player to congratulate them. He was followed by Diggs, who darted into a celebratory locker room that was chanting “Andy! Andy! Andy!” in a salute to Borregales, the rookie kicker who drilled the game-winning field goal.
The Patriots improved to 3-2, while the Bills — who have won the last five AFC East championships — dropped to 4-1.
Diggs played a major role in four of those titles as quarterback Josh Allen’s go-to target before the Bills traded him to the Houston Texans in April 2024. Diggs played against the Bills last year, but that game was in Houston, so Sunday night was his first time back at Highmark Stadium.
“It was lit. Electrifying,” he said, later adding that feeding off raucous crowds “is everything to me.”
“When it gets loud, it kind of gets quiet for me,” said the 31-year-old Diggs, who became the first Patriots receiver to post consecutive 100-yard performances in the same season since Julian Edelman in 2019. “It doesn’t bother me too much — they love you one day, they hate you the next, they can love you again. I spent a lot of time here. I respect the dynamic. Used to be here. I’m not here no more. I guess I miss you, too.”
Just as Diggs helped Allen in his early years as Bills quarterback, he’s doing the same for the 23-year-old Maye. Perhaps their best connection Sunday night was a 32-yard improvisational fourth-quarter play in which Maye rolled out to his right, motioned with his left hand for Diggs to move further up the field, and then delivered a pinpoint throw along the right sideline that the sure-handed Diggs snared.
The Patriots scored a touchdown on the next play to go ahead 13-10 midway through the third quarter — a decisive response after the Bills had scored on the opening possession of the second half.
“I saw a young quarterback take a step in the right direction,” Diggs said. “They did a lot of comparisons during the week, and I feel like it’s a helluva comparison to be compared to Josh Allen. But as you come into your own, Drake Maye has to be Drake Maye. I was just so proud of him coming in here and leading the team.”
Maye again found Diggs for a 30-yard catch-and-run play early in the fourth quarter that set up another touchdown two plays later to give the Patriots a 20-10 lead.
The Bills roared back to tie it at 20 before the Patriots got the ball back at their own 29-yard line with 2:12 remaining. The game-winning 37-yard drive started with Maye’s final completion to Diggs, as he made the throw while falling to the ground as Jones was bearing down on him with his left shoulder in his grasp.
Of Diggs’ triumphant return to Western New York, Maye said: “It’s storybook. Coming back here, first game [since the trade], primetime, you could see it all week. He just loves football. He has a lot in the tank left. It’s good he’s a Patriot.”
